The Fiddler of the Reels and Other Stories 1888-1900

by Hardy, Thomas; Wilson, Keith; Brady, Kristin

• ISBN13: 9780140439007
• ISBN10: 0140439005
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-25
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

In the title story, Car'line Aspent, bewitched and seduced by the dazzling fiddler Mop Ollamoor, rejects her loyal suitor Ned only to repent her decision and seek him out years later. The ten other stories share the theme of love, but they are more than simple love stories. Written with Hardy's customary compassion for ordinary women and his sharp sense of irony, they tell of romantic disasters, betrayals, misunderstandings, and cruelties. The stories in this collection were written between 1888 and 1900, when Hardy was also writing his greatest and most important novels.

Author Biography

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was the son of a village stonemason and trained as an architect. He wrote numerous novels but devoted the last decades of his life to writing poetry. Keith Wilson is professor and former chair of English at the University of Ottawa and Honorary Vice President of the Thomas Hardy Association. Kristin Brady taught English at the University of Western Ontario. She edited The Withered Arm and Other Stories for Penguin Classics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
General Editor's Preface
Chronology: Hardy's Life and Works
Map: Wessex Novels Edition
Bibliographical Note
Introduction
Further Reading
A Note on the History of the Texts
The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion	p. 3
A Tragedy of Two Ambitions	p. 22
The First Countess of Wessex	p. 48
Barbara of the House of Grebe	p. 99
For Conscience' Sake	p. 132
The Son's Veto	p. 150
On the Western Circuit	p. 166
The Fiddler of the Reels	p. 191
An Imaginative Woman	p. 209
A Changed Man	p. 234
Enter a Dragoon	p. 255
Notes	p. 277
History of the Short Story Collections	p. 320
Hardy's Use of History in 'The First Countess of Wessex'	p. 323
App. III: A Note on the Illustrations	p. 333
Glossary	p. 336
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