Wessex Tales

An authoritative edition of Hardy's first collection of short stories, including an introductory essay and comprehensive explanatory notes.

Thomas Hardy (Author), N. H. Reeve (Edited by), Richard Nemesvari (Edited by)

9781107091054, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 February 2025

536 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.3 cm, 0.89 kg

Hardy's first collection of short stories, Wessex Tales contains some of his most famous narratives. 'The Three Strangers' is often described as the quintessential example of his short fiction, while 'The Withered Arm,' with its suggestion of supernatural influences and its shocking conclusion, has thrilled readers for over a century. Tales such as 'Fellow-Townsmen' and 'Intruders at the Knap' showcase Hardy's typically ironic approach to the relationship between the sexes, and 'The Distracted Preacher' shows his undervalued comic touch. The re-introduction of 'An Imaginative Woman' into the collection, which Hardy at one point inserted and then subsequently removed, restores the volume to his original intention. This edition provides an authoritative text and full scholarly apparatus, allowing the reader to trace Hardy's creative process for each of the stories. It also includes an introductory essay discussing the work's composition, publication and critical reception, and comprehensive explanatory notes.

Introduction
Volume 1: The Three Strangers
The Withered Arm
Fellow-Townsmen
Volume 2: Interlopers at the Knap
The Distracted Preacher
An Imaginative Woman
Apparatus: List of Variants – Accidentals
End-of-Line Word Division
Editorial Emendations
Appendices: Appendix A – Prefaces to Wessex Tales
Appendix B – Frontispieces
Appendix C – Chapter One of 'Fellow-Townsmen' from New Quarterly Magazine
Appendix D – Description of Principal Texts
Appendix E – Description of Manuscripts
Appendix F – Pall Mall Magazine Illustrations for 'An Imaginative Woman'
Explanatory Notes.

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