Hardy's most haunting novel follows Jude’s piteous loyalty to his enigmatic muse, Sue Bridehead. Narrator Neville Jason evokes Hardy's somber tone through his resonant voice and measured pace, eloquently moving the listener through the novel's descriptive prose. The story takes place in Hardy’s Wessex country, among artisans and teachers. Jason captures the dialects of the region in his vocal characterizations. He is particularly effective in his emphatic performance of the continual bickering between Jude and his first wife, Arabella. Jason’s attention to the intonation of Hardy's style compels the listener through this unsettling love story. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Jude the Obscure created storms of scandal and protest for the author upon its publication. Hardy, disgusted and disappointed, devoted the remainder of his life to poetry and never wrote another novel. Today, the material is far less shocking. Jude Fawley, a poor stone carver with aspirations toward an academic career, is thwarted at every turn and is finally forced to give up his dreams of a university education. He is tricked into an unwise marriage, and when his wife deserts him, he begins a relationship with a free-spirited cousin. With this begins the descent into bleak tragedy as the couple alternately defy and succumb to the pressures of a deeply disapproving society. Hardy's characters have a fascinating ambiguity: they are victimized by a stern moral code, but they are also selfish and weak-willed creatures who bring on much of their own difficulties through their own vacillations and submissions to impulse. The abridgment speeds Jude's fall to considerable dramatic effect, but it also deletes the author's agonizing logic. Instead of the meticulous weaving of Jude's destiny, we get a somewhat incoherent summary that preserves the major plot points but fails to draw us into the tragedy. Michael Pennington reads resonantly and skillfully, his voice perfectly matching the grim music of Hardy's prose, but this recording can only be recommended for larger public libraries.--John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices, Sunnyvale, CA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Cedric Watts’s edition of Jude the Obscure is one of an extremely interesting set of literary works from Broadview Press, distinguished by wise editorial choices and inclusion of a variety of documents contemporary with the works. Watts is one of our era’s most resourceful and level-headed analysts of literature, and his introduction richly sketches the angles of several controversies current in Hardy’s time. There are numerous selections from writings which influenced Hardy (science, philosophy, poems, the Bible) excerpts from essays and poems from the late nineteenth century, and materials in categories such as divorce, and university education, all of which amplify and add to Watts’ comments, and stimulate thinking about Hardy and nineteenth-century subjects, as well as about our own time.” — Dale Kramer, University of Oregon
“This is an informative and scholarly edition of the novel which brings out its explosive nature, why it so scandalised Hardy’s contemporaries. Professor Watts provides a clear, lively introduction, helpful notes and a wealth of material on the textual history of Jude the Obscure , its contemporary reception and its intellectual and social context. Readers of Hardy will find it immensely useful.” — T.R. Wright, University of Newcastle
“Broadview Press and editor Cedric Watts have done a splendid job.” — English Literature in Transition
A compelling novel is made more so in this audio version by the outstanding work of Frederick Davidson. Always dependable, Davidson here excels in his use of measured dramatics; his consistent differentiation of a large cast of characters from varying social, educational and, therefore, dialectal groups; and his obvious personal involvement in the miseries of the two main characters.”
The greatest tragic writer among English Novelists”
[Hardy's] style touches sublimity”
I am delighted with the new Jude the Obscure.”
The only text for the serious scholar. The Critical Editions are not only great from a student's point-of-view but from a teaching perspective as well.
The criticism is well chosen to give students an introduction to major elements in Hardy's last novel. I also appreciate the chronology of Hardy’s life and the material on his revision process. Norton Critical Editions . . . offer me a chance to expand the world of my students.
"Broadview Press and editor Cedric Watts have done a splendid job."
English Literature in Transition
"This is an informative and scholarly edition of the novel which brings out its explosive nature, why it so scandalised Hardy's contemporaries. Professor Watts provides a clear, lively introduction, helpful notes and a wealth of material on the textual history of Jude the Obscure, its contemporary reception and its intellectual and social context. Readers of Hardy will find it immensely useful."
T.R. Wright University of Newcastle
"Cedric Watts's edition of Jude the Obscure is one of an extremely interesting set of literary works from Broadview Press, distinguished by wise editorial choices and inclusion of a variety of documents contemporary with the works. Watts is one of our era's most resourceful and level-headed analysts of literature, and his introduction richly sketches the angles of several controversies current in Hardy's time. There are numerous selections from writings which influenced Hardy (science, philosophy, poems, the Bible) excerpts from essays and poems from the late nineteenth century, and materials in categories such as divorce, and university education, all of which amplify and add to Watts' comments, and stimulate thinking about Hardy and nineteenth-century subjects, as well as about our own time."
Dale Kramer University of Oregon