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The Return of the Native

By Thomas Hardy and Hardy
Series: Oxford World's Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Return of the Native follows Eustacia Vye, a passionate woman yearning for a life of 'music, poetry, passion, war' on the wild Egdon Heath. Her marriage to Clym Yeobright, a native of the heath, sets the stage for a story of romantic ambition, idealism, and resulting discontent that entangles several lives in deceit and unhappiness. The novel explores the tension between the mythic rural setting and the characters' modern struggles, highlighting the challenge of living one's dreams.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel is suited to readers who appreciate classic British fiction, richly descriptive settings, and complicated emotional narratives. Fans of Thomas Hardy and those interested in literature exploring the conflict between individual desires and societal constraints will find this edition compelling.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Eustacia Vye criss-crosses the wild Egdon Heath, eager to experience life to the full in her quest for 'music, poetry, passion, war'. She marries Clym Yeobright, native of the heath, but his idealism frustrates her romantic ambitions and her discontent draws others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

"To be loved to madness - such was her great desire."

Eustacia Vye criss-crosses the wild Egdon Heath, eager to experience life to the full in her quest for "music, poetry, passion, war". She marries Clym Yeobright, native of the heath, but his idealism frustrates her romantic ambitions. Her discontent draws others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness.

Early readers responded to Hardy's "insatiably observant" descriptions of the heath, a setting that for D. H. Lawrence provided the "real stuff of tragedy". For modern readers, the tension between the mythic setting of the heath and the modernity of the characters challenges our freedom to shape the world as we wish; like Eustacia, we may not always be able to live our dreams.

This edition has a critically established text based on the manuscript and first edition, without the later changes that substantially altered Hardy's original intentions.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780199537044

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 August 2008

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Oxford University Press

Illustration: one map

Contributors:

  • Edited by Simon Gatrell
  • Notes by Nancy Barrineau
  • Introduction by Margaret R. Higonnet

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 343g

Pages: 496

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Hardy Literary Fiction Series: Oxford World's Classics Thomas Hardy

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