Thomas Hardy

9 summariesHistorical Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the declining status of rural people in Britain, such as those from his native South West England.

Books by Thomas Hardy

9 books available

Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
3.8 (238k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
Poverty and social rules trap Tess Durbeyfield, a 'pure woman,' on a tragic path of seduction and betrayal, defined by impossible choices made for love and a peaceful future.
Far from the Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
3.9 (129k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
Bathsheba Everdene, a spirited woman in Victorian Wessex, navigates love and independence among stoic shepherds and dashing sergeants.
Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy
3.8 (64k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
A stone mason's intense pursuit of knowledge and love collapses against class barriers, social rules, and a tragic fate tied to his free-spirited cousin in Victorian England.
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy
3.8 (54k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
A man's drunken choice to auction his wife and child at a country fair echoes for two decades, forcing him to face a past he tried to bury as the Mayor of Casterbridge.
The Return of the Native
Thomas Hardy
3.9 (34k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
On Egdon Heath, a son's return starts a tragic series of events involving doomed love, yearning, and fate among four people.
The Woodlanders
Thomas Hardy
3.9 (14k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
In a secluded Dorset woodland, a woman's loyalty to nature and a good man conflicts with the allure of social status, leading to heartbreak and moral compromise.
Under the Greenwood Tree
Thomas Hardy
3.7 (11k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
In a Victorian village, a church musician's simple life changes when a charming schoolmistress arrives, threatening tradition and starting a complicated love.
A Pair of Blue Eyes
Thomas Hardy
3.8 (7k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
In a remote Cornish parish, a spirited rector's daughter is torn between a young architect and an older literary man, reflecting the author's own struggle between his established career and the call of literature.
Two on a Tower
Thomas Hardy
3.7 (3k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction
In a Victorian story of forbidden love and cosmic ambition, a high-born lady and her astronomer lover defy society by sweeping the heavens together, only for their romance to crash amid earthly pressures of class, ambition, and scandal.