Thomas Hardy and the Proper Study of Mankind - Hardcover

by Simon Gatrell (Author)

Simon Gatrell offers a fresh and stimulating exploration of Hardy's account in fiction of the individual man or woman's relationship with various aspects of the encompassing world- with other men and women, with the aggregation known as society, with the natural and artificial environment, and with the supernatural. He focuses on the importance of community in Hardy's fiction, especially on the ability of rural villages and towns to withstand the stresses of industrialized agriculture and the national standardization of education and culture.

Back Jacket

Simon Gatrell offers a fresh and stimulating exploration of Hardy's account in fiction of the individual man or woman's relationship with various aspects of the encompassing world-with other men and women, with the aggregation known as society, with the natural and artificial environment, and with the supernatural. He focuses on the importance of community in Hardy's fiction, especially on the ability of rural villages and towns to withstand the stresses of industrialized agriculture and the national standardization of education and culture. He also proposes that the full titles Hardy gave to a number of his novels have not been sufficiently attended to as signs instinct with meaning.

Author Biography

Simon Gatrell is Professor of English at the University of Georgia. His published works include Hardy the Creator: A Textual Biography, editions of several of Hardy's novels and fictional manuscripts, and a bibliography of George Crabbe (with Tony Bareham).