Life's Little Ironies

A full scholarly edition showing Hardy's original artistic intentions, his creative process, the stories' publication and their reception.

Thomas Hardy (Author), Alan Manford (Edited by)

9781108491433, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 October 2023

350 pages
23.5 x 16.2 x 3.5 cm, 0.93 kg

Life's Little Ironies (a phrase coined by Hardy) was Thomas Hardy's third collection of short stories. The volume's eight stories and one sequence of shorter tales (presented in a Canterbury Tales-type framework) had all appeared first in magazines before being gathered together in 1894. Not only do they reflect the strengths and themes of his great novels – they are also themselves powerful works, encompassing tragedy and humour. Part of the Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Short Stories of Thomas Hardy, this volume presents an authoritative text which aims to reflect Hardy's original artistic intentions. A full scholarly apparatus includes every authorial revision, from manuscript (where extant) onwards, enabling readers to trace Hardy's creative process. An introductory essay gives details of the stories' composition, publishing history and critical reception; there are comprehensive explanatory notes and a glossary, and the illustrations that accompanied the stories' magazine publication also provide valuable context.

Introduction
Life's Little Ironies: The Son's Veto
For Conscience' Sake
A Tragedy of Two Ambitions
On the Western Circuit
To Please his Wife
The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion
The Fiddler of the Reels
A Tradition of Eighteen Hundred and Four
A Few Crusted Characters
Apparatus
Editorial Emendations
Textual Notes
Record of Variants – Accidentals
End-of-line Word Division
Appendices
Explanatory Notes
Glossary of Dialect Terms.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF]