The story begins as Grace It was not only Henry James (The Turn of the Screw [1898]) who wrote in the nineteenth century those “psychological” novels with plenty of barely perceivable sexual tension. Review: "The Woodlanders" By Thomas Hardy I am continuing on with my summer of reading the written works of George Eliot and Thomas Hardy. I love him delightful, I can appreciate him in the middle, I just nearly gag when he's wallowing in morbidity . However, as soon as she does so, she also notices a much more promising suitor who starts to intrigue her more than anyone else in this world: an educated, ambitious and “irresistible” doctor Edred Fitzpiers. Thought I'd try out Mr. Hardy again, it's been a while. Betrayal, adultery, disillusion, and moral compromise are all worked out in a setting evoked as both beautiful and treacherous. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy [A Review] The Woodlanders is possibly one of the lesser Hardy novels. What goes on as in Is it clean?? Part of the genius of Thomas Hardy is that he introduces the plot and his characters cleverly and in an almost indirect manner. The Woodlanders. In mathematics three into two won't go without a fracture. One girl’s reputation, which was largely a mere impression of that reputation, dictated that girl’s entire life, irrespective of the circumstances or other factors. in Dale Kramer (ed. Other reviewers rate this as one of Hardy's best but I found it a bit worthy and, like Mr South's tree, in need of a bit of pruning. But. Which one is your favourite? The vividness of the characters, as well as the way they are introduced, is another point of admiration. It is nice to take one’s time with books that you know you are going to enjoy to prolong the pleasure and still have amazing books to read. This movie by Phil Agland takes the pace of the book but doesn't necessarily serve it well as a film. The author painstaking conveys the atmosphere of this place, the changing seasons which dictate the life in that wooded area where nature still has an upper hand. Throughout this novel I was taken by the way Hardy visualises scenes either through subjective viewpoints, showing us what specific characters see, or choose to see, or from the eye of the omniscient observer, the author. Hope you get to watch the film adaptation and like it. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Thomas Hardy. in Dale Kramer (ed. It is one of the six masterpieces of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex novels. This was a time when people’s life-paths depended wholly on their birth place, their family’s social position, their circumstances and societal expectations. Both enjoy each others company and their secret passionate rendezvous in the nearby forest become known, causing Grace much anguish... still hot flames can extinguish quickly . Some of my favorite novelists - Graham Greene is another example - excel in the art of sequencing, chosing the most telling scene to establish theme, character and setting and advance plot. I mean who doesn't like Rufus. The Woodlanders – bibliography. I would love to be in the classroom if this book is being taught in a culture which supports arranged marriages. The prose changes constantly--lyrical and descriptive suddenly becomes stilted and awkward. When reading a book The Woodlanders from a superb writer like Mr.Thomas Hardy not the first one mind you... a half dozen novels precisely , anticipating the outcome before beginning is easily ascertained, Victorian authors had an unpleasant habit of no happy endings and this particular scribbler not a accurate term, he was magnificent, however the belief that life terminates badly permeates his books and accepted as a truism in his own...........Deep in an isolated pocket in the woods of southern England many miles from a city lived a group of people in a tiny village called Little Hintock, population maybe a hundred souls if that. I am continuing on with my summer of reading the written works of George Eliot and Thomas Hardy. The story confirms the power of close friends and the courage to make a difference in the lives of others. Much was mythical, with many references to Norse and Classical mythology. Nestled on forested land, the beauty of the woodland is beckoning. 18 Reviews. I would love to hear your opinion on them some day and discuss them . I would recommend this book if you have enjoyed some of this other writings. Best known for spending a year in a remote Chinese village for his documentary series Beyond the Clouds, Agland comes down to earth with this, his first fiction film (scripted by David Rudkin). Very Good. The novel reflects common Hardy themes: a rustic, evocative setting, poorly chosen marriage partners, unrequited love, social class mobility, and an unhappy, or at best equivocal, ending. Welcome back. Thomas Hardy’s narrative is like an exquisite painting created in a style of Old Masters, where money, ambition, sophistication, self-interest and the excess of knowledge clash violently with rural simplicity, kindness, loyalty and naïve mentality. The Woodlanders summary and study guide are also available on the mobile version of the website. Sadly, this book, at least the 36% I read of it, anyway, fits in the latter category. Fans of Hardy will know that he often brings the landscape to life in his novels. It had a very sad ending but very fitting for the circumstances. I have a thing for Thomas Hardy. My favourites are Far from the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge. To be honest, Far from the Madding Crowd seems to me now as though it is some caricature of The Woodlanders, even though it was published first . But that does not mean it contains any less of Hardy’s trademark of exploring the tragic consequences of making bad choices in love. I have been reading Hardy's novels in the order in which he wrote them, and The Woodlanders, first published in 1887, follows closely on the heels of The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886). Share This. The Woodlanders isn't the first Hardy I've read - in 2015, I read Far from the Madding Crowd and I read The Mayor of Casterbridge some time prior to 2011. Much was mythical, with many references to Norse and Classical mythology. Thank you! Falling in love the doctor or as close as he gets to the emotion with the rich, gorgeous widow in her late twenties and occasional visitor to Little Hintoch, having a huge mansion there , a Mrs. Felice Charmond, complicates the situation. For the majority of the book, I was thinking this might be my new favourite Hardy. Her father now believes she can find a better husband than her childhood sweetheart, woodsman Giles. The Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. I loved what you said about how it similar in many ways to ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’. In this novel, Grace, an impressionable, recently-educated girl, “who has been around cultivated folks” arrives home to a small village of Little Hintock after a long absence and to the delight of her father Mr Melbury, a timber merchant. A very professional product from a master in storytelling...his favorite. The prose changes constantly--lyrical and descriptive suddenly becomes stilted and awkward. Hardy is a genius at symbolism, and weaving subtle meanings into his nature descriptions. Betrayal, adultery, disillusion, and moral compromise are all worked out in a setting evoked as both beautif. Thomas Hardy. In this novel particularly, it seems that Hardy can never use a short word when a long one is available, so some of the passages are a bit laborious and there are places where he decidedly overplays the pathos and melodrama. If you need a terrific novel to consume and are willing to tolerate, and be never quite satisfied by the ambiguous conclusion this is for you. 3 (1 Review) Published: 1887. The story is set in late 19th century rural corner of South England. 3 New from£7.21 "The Woodlanders" was published in 1887 and Thomas Hardy himsef estimated it as his best novel. The book provides something that few novels of its time can claim: all-around entertainment for all ages. The beauty/mastery of the prose is matched by the gripping plot full of vivid characters and psychological nuances. I had not read Thomas Hardy for many years. It was declared by the Saturday Review in April 1887 to be, "the best [novel] that Hardy has written", by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, "his loveliest if not his finest book", by William Lyon Phelps, "the most beautiful and most noble of Hardy's novels", and by A. Edward Newton, "one of the best novels of the last half century". You've already shared your review for this item. This book is gorgeous with its rural setting, as was Under the Greenwood Tree, which is the book that pushed me to by The Woodlanders. Clean? Emphasising the unbridgeable gap between the social classes and drawing attention to the iron confines of a marriage, while evoking the atmosphere of the old rural England, Hardy created with The Woodlanders the work that is on a par with some of his greatest literary creations – Tess of the d’Urbervilles [1891] and Far from the Madding Crowd [1874]. At times, he is delightful. See all 3 questions about The Woodlanders…, The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy - 4 stars, Philippa Gregory's Favorite Fictional Heroines. I love my Hardy, as many of you will know, and those fond memories of my first reading of it have been upheld. John Bayley, ‘A Social Comedy’ On Re-Reading The Woodlanders, Thomas Hardy Annual, 5 (1987), 3-21.. Penny Boumelha, ‘The Patriarchy of Class: Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders‘. “Treacherous” Time becomes another character in this story since it is the social customs of the day that largely shaped the destinies of the characters. The work is a pessimistic attack on a society that values high status and socially sanctioned behaviour over good character and honest emotions. She soon rekindles her friendship with her childhood sweet-heart Giles Winterborne, an apple and cider farmer. I’ve read Tess and Jude, both moving and sad with characters who I sometimes wish were more assertive. Emphasising the unbridgeable gap between the social classes and drawing attention to the iron confines of a marriage, while evoking the atmosphere of the old rural England, Hardy created with, Part of the genius of Thomas Hardy is that he introduces the plot and his characters cleverly and in an almost indirect manner. Grace Melbury is returning home from boarding school age circa twenty, smart, lovely , educated, her proud father Mr. George Melbury a lumber merchant the richest person in the village has second thoughts about her marrying Giles Winterborne a solid kind man, working sometimes for him. I'm not averse to the characters or story so far, as much as apathetic. Will read it one of these days. The Woodlanders is a “Gatsby-esk” look at class distinctions; how the privileged class invariably and uncaringly run rough shod over the lower and middle class – in this case in mid-19th Century England. The descriptions of all the noises and smells are important: “the smell of the uncovered sap mingled with the smell of the burning wood, and the sticky inner surface of scattered bark glistened as it revealed its pale madder hues to the eye” [Hardy, 1887: 105]. December 2020 Wrap-Up – Thoughts on Papyrus, The Beauty & Mystery of Medieval Tapestries, 10 Books That Changed Their Original Titles. Six down and one more to go of Hardy’s from the 1001 Books List. Exploration of Literature, Cultures and Knowledge. Much of it, for me, was laugh-out-loud funny. A lovely review Diana – I haven’t read this one yet but certainly will, especially as you say how similar it is to Madding Crowd – can’t get too much of a good thing! The title is bang on. Author Bio Tragedy haunts the works of Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), whose fiction abounds in star-crossed lovers and other characters thwarted by fate or their own shortcomings. I am so glad I did! His readers sometimes become intruders, and, at other times, mere witnesses to the scenery and the events unfolding. A one-volume edition of Thomas Hardy's novel. I am so glad I left it until now. Having loved Thomas Hardy's _ Far from the Madding Crowd_, I decided to take a chance on this lesser-known work. Sadly, this book, at least the 36% I read of it, anyway, fits in the latter category. However, as soon as she does so, she also notices a much more promising suitor who starts to intrigue her more than anyone else in this world: an educated, ambitious and “irresistible” doctor Edred Fitzpiers. Thanks. Goodness me! Many thanks! When reading a book The Woodlanders from a superb writer like Mr.Thomas Hardy not the first one mind you... a half dozen novels precisely , anticipating the outcome before beginning is easily ascertained, Victorian authors had an unpleasant habit of no happy endings and this particular scribbler not a accurate term, he was magnificent, however the belief that life terminates badly permeates his books and accepted as a truism in his own...........Deep in an isolated pocket in the woods of souther. I haven’t read ‘The Woodlanders’ but have seen the film adaptation. N. B. I think you’ll like it. They both have very similar life experiences, especially in connection with members of the opposite sex. 'The Woodlanders' was one of Thomas Hardy's most involving novels, a key novel in his Wessex series concerning the land and the people who struggle with conscience and passion within it. His readers sometimes become intruders, and, at other times, mere witnesses to the scenery and the events unfolding. I'm not averse to the characters or story so far, as much as apathetic. ( Log Out /  This was always a Hardy high point, and The Woodlanders has some truly memorable personages: the intelligent and well-educated Grace, who has in many ways overcome her upbringing's conventional shortcomings but is also a true Woodlands native; Giles, who has genuinely noble feelings and sentiments but is held back in the world's eyes by lack of education and a life tied to the Woodlands; … The Woodlanders (Chapter 4, page 1 of 9) AA. The Woodlanders marks the beginnings of controversy for Hardy's novels. The drama may be more “diffused” in the book, but it has the same conviction as Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. We first get a glimpse of Little Hintock through a man who lost his way on the way there. The not so good doctor has a propensity to chase pretty women and they find him attractive and charming, doesn't matter if single or married he is always on the hunt. As is my custom, I saved the scholarly introduction for my edition until after I read the book. Loved reading your review. - I still really enjoyed it. John Bayley, ‘A Social Comedy’ On Re-Reading The Woodlanders, Thomas Hardy Annual, 5 (1987), 3-21.. Penny Boumelha, ‘The Patriarchy of Class: Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders‘. Thomas Hardy's The Woodlanders consists of 48 parts for ease of reading. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Woodlanders.