Love and the erratic heart are at the center of Hardy's "woodland
story." Set in the beautiful Blackmoor Vale, The Woodlanders concerns
the fortunes of Giles Winterborne, whose love for the well-to-do
Grace Melbury is challenged by the arrival of the dashing and
dissolute doctor, Edred Fitzpiers. When the mysterious Felice
Charmond further complicates the romantic entanglements, marital
choice and class mobility become inextricably linked. Hardy's
powerful novel depicts individuals in thrall to desire and the
natural law that motivates them. This is the only critical edition of
the novel, which was Hardy's own favorite "as a story," that is based
on a comprehensive study of the manuscript and incorporates later
revisions. The new introduction by Penny Boumelha considers the novel
in the context of Hardy's career, the characters' relationships with
one another, the role of destiny and individual choice, narrative
perspective, and the community. This edition also contains a new and
up-to-date bibliography and a new chronology.
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