Full Description
The Melancholy Hussar/ A Tragedy of Two Ambitions/ The First Countess of Wessex/ Barbara of the House of Grebe/ For Conscience' Sake/ The Son's Veto/ On the Western Circuit/ An Imaginative Woman/ A Changed Man/ Enter a Dragoon
The 11 short storiesin this collection range from those with the Wessex setting familiar from Hardy's novels, to aristocratic historical fantasies set in the 17th and 18th centuries, and tragic or ironic contemporary dramas. Enormously readable in their own right, thestories can also be seen as a rich testing ground for ideas and themes that receive more sustained treatment in Hardy's most innovative and controversial novels.
Contents
The Fiddler of the Reels and Other StoriesAcknowledgments
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
Short Stories
The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion
A Tragedy of Two Ambitions
The First Countess of Wessex
Barbara of the House of Grebe
For Conscience's Sake
The Son's Veto
On the Western Circuit
The Fiddler of the Reels
An Imaginative Woman
A Changed Man
Enter a Dragoon
Notes
Appendix I: History of the Short Story Collections
Appendix II: Hardy's Use of History in "The First Countess of Wessex"
Appendix III: A Note on the Illustrations
Glossary
