Thomas Hardy Books In Order

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. Desperate Remedies (1871)
  2. Under the Greenwood Tree (1872)
  3. A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873)
  4. Far From the Madding Crowd (1874)
  5. The Hand of Ethelberta (1876)
  6. The Return of the Native (1878)
  7. The Trumpet-Major (1880)
  8. A Laodicean (1881)
  9. Two on a Tower (1882)
  10. The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
  11. The Woodlanders (1887)
  12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891)
  13. The Well-Beloved (1892)
  14. Jude the Obscure (1895)

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Thomas Hardy Books Overview

Desperate Remedies

Hardy’s first published work, Desperate Remedies moves the sensation novel into new territory. The anti hero, Aeneas Manston, as physically alluring as he is evil, even fascinates the innocent Cytherea, though she is in love with another man. When he cannot seduce her, Manston resorts to deception, blackmail, bigamy, murder, and rape. Yet this compelling story also raises the great questions underlying Hardy’s major novels, which relate to the injustice of the class system, the treatment of women, probability and causality. This edition shows for the first time that the sensation novel was always Hardy’s natural genre. It is based on the first edition text, and includes later prefaces and the Wessex Poems ‘dissolved’ into prose. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up to date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Under the Greenwood Tree

Dick Dewey lives in the village with his father and grandfather. A new teacher comes to the school and Dick is soon in love with her, but so are Mr Shiner and Mr Maybold. ‘Penguin Readers’ is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series’ combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre 20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. ‘Penguin Readers’ are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from ‘Easystarts’ with a 200 word vocabulary, to Level 6 Advanced with a 3000 word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub categories: ‘Contemporary’, ‘Classics’ or ‘Originals’. At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying ‘Penguin Readers Factsheets’ which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.

A Pair of Blue Eyes

ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you. This is Volume Volume 3 of 3 Volume Set. To purchase the complete set, you will need to order the other volumes separately: to find them, search for the following ISBNs: 9781427024350, 9781427024794Thomas Hardy presents another entrancing and captivating work. The story of Elfride and her desires, that are not yet clear to herself, as well as the two suitors, whose intentions are manifest, is presented. The demands made of a female by her parents and society is elucidated upon in a brilliant manner. To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

Far From the Madding Crowd

Far From the Maddening Crowd, by Thomas Hardy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. The first of Thomas Hardy’s great novels, Far From the Madding Crowd established the author as one of Britain s foremost writers. It also introduced readers to Wessex, an imaginary county in southwestern England that served as the pastoral setting for many of the author s later works. Far From the Madding Crowd tells the story of beautiful Bathsheba Everdene, a fiercely independent woman who inherits a farm and decides to run it herself. She rejects a marriage proposal from Gabriel Oak, a loyal man who takes a job on her farm after losing his own in an unfortunate accident. He is forced to watch as Bathsheba mischievously flirts with her neighbor, Mr. Boldwood, unleashing a passionate obsession deep within the reserved man. But both suitors are soon eclipsed by the arrival of the dashing soldier, Frank Troy, who falls in love with Bathsheba even though he s still smitten with another woman. His reckless presence at the farm drives Boldwood mad with jealousy, and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leads to both murder and marriage. A delicately woven tale of unrequited love and regret, Far From the Madding Crowd is also an unforgettable portrait of a rural culture that, by Hardy s lifetime, had become threatened with extinction at the hands of ruthless industrialization. Jonathan A. Cook has a B.A. from Harvard College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He is the author of Satirical Apocalypse: An Anatomy of Melville s The Confidence Man, and has published numerous articles on the works of Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and other nineteenth century writers.

The Hand of Ethelberta

Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old and well appointed inn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. By her look and carriage she appeared to belong to that gentle order of society which has no worldly sorrow except when its jewellery gets stolen; but, as a fact not generally known, her claim to distinction was rather one of brains than of blood. She was the daughter of a gentleman who lived in a large house not his own, and began life as a baby christened Ethelberta after an infant of title who does not come into the story at all, having merely furnished Ethelberta’s mother with a subject of contemplation. She became teacher in a school, was praised by examiners, admired by gentlemen, not admired by gentlewomen, was touched up with accomp lishments by masters who were coaxed into painstaking by her many graces, and, entering a mansion as governess to the daughter thereof, was stealthily married by the son. He, a minor like herself, died from a chill caught during the wedding tour, and a few weeks later was followed into the grave by Sir Ralph Petherwin, his unforgiving father, who had bequeathed his wealth to his wife absolutely.

The Return of the Native

The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. A haunting tale of romantic self deception, The Return of the Native focuses on mismatched lovers who see in each other only what they want to see, and decidedly not what is actually there. Clym Yeobright, the native of the title, returns to Hardy’s fictional Egdon Heath determined to be a force for social progress. Dazzled by the beauty of Eustacia Vye, he imagines they re soul mates, woos and wins her, and enters into what is at first a passionate marriage. He soon discovers that what she really wants is a passport to a more exciting and sophisticated life, away from provincial England. Surrounding them are Clym s mother, strongly opposed to his marriage; Damon Wildeve, in love with Eustacia but married to Clym s cousin, Thomasin; and the oddly ambiguous observer Diggory Venn, whose frustrated love for Thomasin turns him into either a guardian angel or a jealous manipulator or perhaps both. This stew of curdled love and conflicting emotions can only boil over into tragedy, and the book s darkly ironic ending marks it as both a classically Victorian novel and a forerunner of the modernist fiction that followed it. Lauren Walsh teaches a writing seminar at Columbia University, where she is completing her Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature.

The Trumpet-Major

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG The present tale is founded more largely on testimony oral and written than any other in this series. The external incidents which direct its course are mostly an unexaggerated reproduction of the recollections of old persons well known to the author in childhood, but now long dead, who were eye witnesses of those scenes. If wholly transcribed their recollections would have filled a volume thrice the length of ‘The Trumpet Major.’ Down to the middle of this century, and later, there were not wanting, in the neighbourhood of the places more or less clearly indicated herein, casual relics of the circumstances amid which the action moves our preparations for defence against the threatened invasion of England by Buonaparte. An outhouse door riddled with bullet holes, which had been extempo rized by a solitary man as a target for firelock practice when the landing was hourly expected, a heap of bricks and clods on a beacon hill, which had formed the chimney and walls of the hut occupied by the beacon keeper, worm eaten shafts and iron heads of pikes for the use of those who had no better weapons, ridges on the down thrown up during the encampment, fragments of volunteer uniform, and other such lingering remains, brought to my imagination in early childhood the state of affairs at the date of the war more vividly than volumes of history could have done.

A Laodicean

Of all the writings of Plato the Timaeus is the most obscure and repulsive to the modern reader, and has nevertheless had the greatest influence over the ancient and mediaeval world. The obscurity arises in the infancy of physical science, out of the confusion of theological, mathematical, and physio logical notions, out of the desire to conceive the whole of nature without any adequate knowledge of the parts, and from a greater perception of similarities which lie on the surface than of differences which are hidden from view. To bring sense under the control of reason; to find some way through the mist or labyrinth of appearances, either the highway of mathematics, or more devious paths suggested by the analogy of man with the world, and of the world with man; to see that all things have a cause and are tending towards an end this is the spirit of the ancient physical philosopher. He has no notion of trying an experiment and is hardly capable of observing the curiosities of nature which are ‘tumbling out at his feet,’ or of interpreting even the most obvious of them. He is driven back from the nearer to the more distant, from particulars to generalities, from the earth to the stars. He lifts up his eyes to the heavens and seeks to guide by their motions his erring footsteps. But we neither appreciate the conditions of knowledge to which he was subjected, nor have the ideas which fastened upon his imagi nation the same hold upon us.

Two on a Tower

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG This slightly built romance was the outcome of a wish to set the emotional history of two infinitesimal lives against the stupendous background of the stellar universe, and to impart to readers the sentiment that of these contrasting magnitudes the smaller might be the greater to them as men. But, on the publication of the book people seemed to be less struck with these high aims of the author than with their own opinion, first, that the novel was an ‘improper’ one in its morals, and, secondly, that it was intended to be a satire on the Established Church of this country. I was made to suffer in consequence from several eminent pens. That, however, was thirteen years ago, and, in respect of the first opinion, I venture to think that those who care to read the story now will be quite astonished at the scrupulous propriety observed therein on the relations of the sexes; for though there may be frivolous, and even grotesque touches on occasion, there is hardly a single caress in the book outside legal matrimony, or what was intended so to be.

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Featuring a stunning Introduction by popular author of The Ice Storm and Demonology Rick Moody, this special edition of The Mayor of Casterbridge is a tie in to the A&E Television Network adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s critically acclaimed novel. In a surprisingly personal essay, Moody names the saga ‘the first great novel about alcoholism,’ and delivers penetrating insight into the character of Michael Henchard and the crippling deficiencies that foretell his ruin. The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with an act of such heartlessness and cruelty that it still shocks readers today. Michael Henchard, an out of work hay trusser, gets drunk at a fair and for five guineas sells his wife and child to a sailor. When the horror of his act sets in the following morning, the wretched Henchard swears he will not touch alcohol for twenty one years. Through hard work and acumen, he becomes rich, respected, and eventually The Mayor of Casterbridge. Eighteen years pass before Henchard’s fateful oath comes back to claim its due. Upon the return to Casterbridge of his wife and daughter, Elizabeth Jane, Henchard’s fortunes steadily decline. He clashes with his business assistant, Donald Farfrae, who soon becomes his major rival. He ruins his business through impulsive speculations and takes to drinking again. One by one he forfeits his possessions and relationships to Farfrae. Soon Farfrae owns Henchard’s business and his house, has gained the affection of his lover Lucetta, and has even become The Mayor of Casterbridge. In a final insult, Farfrae marries Elizabeth Jane. Having lost everything he once possessed, Henchard is forced to face himself in his most tragic and desperate moment.

The Woodlanders

ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you.

This is Volume Volume 1 of 2 Volume Set. To purchase the complete set, you will need to order the other volumes separately: to find them, search for the following ISBNs: 9781427027283

The Woodlanders‘ is one of Thomas Hardy’s finest novels. It presents a portrait of five people in an English village who are tangled in a drama of passion, betrayal, poverty, and pride. The protagonist’s journey towards self discovery has been masterfully captured by Hardy. Guaranteed to mesmerize you with its vivid characterization and gripping narration, this novel is a must read!

To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. Highly controversial because of its frank look at the sexual hypocrisy of Victorian society, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D Urbervilles was nonetheless a great commercial success when it appeared in 1891. It is now considered one of the finest novels in English. Using richly poetic language to frame a shattering narrative of love, seduction, betrayal, and murder, Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune. She meets and is seduced by the dissolute Alec d Urberville and secretly bears a child, Sorrow, who dies in infancy. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer Tess love and salvation, but he rejects her on their wedding night after learning of her past. Emotionally bereft, financially impoverished, and victimized by the self righteous rigidity of English social morality, Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. With its compassionate portrait of a young rural woman, powerful criticism of social convention, and disarming consideration of the role of destiny in human life, Tess of the D Urbervilles is one of the most moving and memorable of Hardy s novels. David Galef has published nine books: the novels Flesh and Turning Japanese; two children’s books, The Little Red Bicycle and Tracks; two translations of Japanese proverbs, Even Monkeys Fall from Trees and Even a Stone Buddha Can Talk; a work of literary criticism, The Supporting Cast; an edited anthology of essays called Second Thoughts: A Focus on Rereading; and, most recently, the short story collection Laugh Track. In addition, he has written more than seventy short stories for magazines ranging from the British Punch to the Czech Prague Revue, the Canadian Prism International, and the American Shenandoah. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Newsday, the Village Voice, Twentieth Century Literature, The Columbia History of the British Novel, and many other places. He is a professor of English at the University of Mississippi, where he also administers the M.F.A. program in creative writing.

The Well-Beloved

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG The peninsula carved by Time out of a single stone, whereon most of the following scenes are laid, has been for centuries immemorial the home of a curious and well nigh distinct people, cherishing strange beliefs and singular customs, now for the most part obsolescent. Fancies, like certain soft wooded plants which cannot bear the silent inland frosts, but thrive by the sea in the roughest of weather, seem to grow up naturally here, in particular amongst those natives who have no active concern in the labours of the ‘Isle.’ Hence it is a spot apt to generate a type of personage like the character imperfectly sketched in these pages a native of natives whom some may choose to call a fantast if they honour him with their consideration so far, but whom others may see only as one that gave objective continuity and a name to a delicate dream which in a vaguer form is more or less common to all men, and is by no means new to Platonic philosophers. To those who know the rocky coign of England here depicted overlooking the great Channel Highway with all its suggestiveness, and standing out so far into mid sea that touches of the Gulf Stream soften the air till February it is matter of surprise that the place has not been more frequently chosen as the retreat of artists and poets in search of inspiration for at least a month or two in the year, the tempestuous rather than the fine seasons by preference. To be sure, one nook therein is the retreat, at their country’s expense, of other geniuses from a distance; but their presence is hardly discoverable. Yet perhaps it is as well that the artistic visitors do not come, or no more would be heard of little freehold houses being bought and sold there for a couple of hundred pounds built of solid stone, and dating from the sixteenth century and earlier, with mullions, copings, and corbels complete. These transactions, by the way, are carried out and covenanted, or were till lately, in the parish church, in the face of the congregation, such being the ancient custom of the Isle.

Jude the Obscure

Hardy’s last and most controversial novel, Jude the Obscure caused much outrage when it was published in 1895. Jude Fawley, poor and working class, longs to study at the University of Christminster, but his ambitions to go to university are thwarted by class prejudice and his entrapment in a loveless marriage. He falls in love with his unconventional cousin, Sue Bridehead, and their refusal to marry when free to do so confirms their rejection of and by the world around them. The shocking fate that overtakes them is an indictment of a rigid and uncaring society. This is the first truly critical edition, taking account of the changes that Hardy made over twenty five years. Hardy’s last, and most controversial novel, this revised edition has the first truly critical text, a new chronology and bibliography, and substantially revised notes.

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