Product Description

This title includes introduction and notes by Dr Claire Seymour, University of Kent at Canterbury. "Under the Greenwood Tree" is Hardy's most bright, confident and optimistic novel. This delightful portrayal of a picturesque rural society, tinged with gentle humour and quiet irony, established Hardy as a writer. However, the novel is not merely a charming rural idyll. The double-plot, in which the love story of Dick Dewey and Fancy Day is inter-related with a tragic chapter in the history of Mellstock Choir, hints at the poignant disappearance of a long-lived and highly-valued traditional way of life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12030 in Books
• Published on: 1994-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

"Hardy's sunniest work" Penguin Popular Classics
Set around the village of Mellstock deep in Hardy's Wessex Under the Greenwood Tree centres around one man's tussle to get his girl. Perhaps Dick Dewy dreams too high above his station in chasing the new schoolteacher Fancy Day, but he pursues her resolved to shake off her rebuttals. Indeed he seems to be winning until the arrival of Mr Maybold, the new vicar. This is where Hardy affectionate tale of country life really asserts its quality. The villagers, deeply set in their traditions are unsettled by Maybold's plans to replace the "Mellstock Quire" of which Dick's father and grandfather are a part, with a new organ, who it is suggested should be played by Miss Day. The ensuing trepidation which is explored as they approach Maybold with their compromise package is quite magical in quality and the almost happy ending makes this a rare book enjoyed amongst those of us who prefer our characters alive and not dead.

A word of warning. Do persevere. This book contains several archaic names and dialectal constructions. This can be disconcerting at the start but eventually forms part of the quaint isolated rural cadence and paints an almost farcically accurate picture of some of the Mellstock's residents.

One of Hardy's best written books
This is one of my favorite Hardy novels! His vivid descriptions bring the rustic setting, characters, and customs to life. It's like peering through a window into a world gone by. The story weaves together love, social position, and the slow displacement of old traditions with modern conventions. A delightful read!

"A dance to the music of time"
The painter Poussin's famous title might stand as a rubric for this lovely book. Hardy views his cast of rustics through the prism of music: the old church stringed instruments choir is to be replaced with the spanking new organ. There is the added romantic interest of young musician Dick Dewy and the female organist, Fancy Day, who is controversially going to play the large mechanical new organ.

This is a story of established customs breaking down through the interloper: a new vicar in town. Structurally divided into Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, it follows the natural rhythms of the earth and of society. Hardy revels in his descriptive powers.

Filled with nostalgia and that increasingly fashionable concept - "Englishness", and seasoned with wisdom and wit, this is truly fabulous - a mini-masterpice in a similar bag to, say, Mrs. Gaskell's "Cranford".

"Under the Greenwood Tree" was deservedly Hardy's own favourite among his novels.