A moving tale from the great writer Thomas Hardy, exposing the inequality of nineteenth century society In this short tragedy, the honourable behaviour of a young woman and the foreign soldier with whom she is in love is confronted by the hypocritical respectability of English society. The story ends in betrayal and execution. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion contains all the elements of pastoral tragedy that are found in Hardy's novels, Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd.

The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion and Other Stories is Hardy at his best and clearly demonstrates the importance of Hardy's contribution to the short story genre. The title story was inspired by an account of some soldiers who had been shot for desertion....