The Woodlanders

by Thomas Hardy Narrated by Steven Green

Overview

The Woodlanders (1887) is a novel by Thomas Hardy. An honest woodsman wants to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace. Although they have been informally betrothed for some time, her father has made financial sacrifices to give his adored only child a superior education and no longer considers him good enough for her. When the new doctor-a well-born and handsome young man takes an interest in her, her father does all he can to make her forget the woodsman, and to encourage what he sees as a brilliant match. Against her better instinct she marries the doctor, who soon begins an affair with a rich widow. The affair gets discovered. The couple becomes progressively more estranged and the man is assaulted by his father-in-law after he accidentally reveals his true character to him, so he deserts to Europe with the widow. Grace realizes that she has only ever really loved the woodsman but as there is no possibility of divorce, she feels that her love seems hopeless...

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Samuel West gives a beautiful reading of Hardy's elegant novel about innocence lost and love tragically squandered. Grace Melbury has been educated much above her social station by a father who wanted her to have a better life than could be made in the woodland village of her birth. To assuage his own guilt about a past incident in his life, he had always intended for Grace to marry Giles Winterborne, an honest, reliable man. Grace and Giles had been dear friends since childhood, but when Grace returns to the village after her schooling, Giles seems beneath her in sophistication. Giles loses Grace to dashing doctor Edred Fitzpiers, a charming, unfaithful, weak man who is subsequently dazzled by the local aristocrat, a rather coquettish widow named Mrs. Felice Charmond. This story becomes much deeper through Hardy's elegiac prose and keen eye for detail. One never tires of West's dramatization. This quiet work won't appeal to all patrons, especially those who want only the latest best sellers. Although not one of Hardy's most well-known works (e.g., Jude the Obscure, Audio Reviews, LJ 4/1/98), this is a gem that deserves to be heard.--Nancy Paul, Brandon P.L., WI

From the Publisher

The finest English novel.”—Arnold Bennett

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169888690
Publisher:	Audioliterature
Publication date:	02/28/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Videos