The Novelist (1870-1898)
a dramatic metaphysical flame, illuminating a tale of virginal passion.
1888: Wessex Tales, novelettes, masterpieces of short-story technique.
1891: A Group of Noble Dames, local heroines, tragic and comic, fitted into a Chaucerian framework.
1891: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the sensational tragedy of the virtuous seduced woman. Tess was the fruit of many months of reflection and research. There is an anecdote which explains how much of Hardy's material was acquired, and throws a little light on the character of his first wife. The originals for the famous D'Urberville portraits were actually hanging in the manor house at Wool. The Hardys called there in order to obtain a view of them. Admission was denied, however, and they were turning away in disappointment, when Mrs. Hardy fell in a faint. She refused to revive until they had carried her into the house. Her husband naturally accompanied her within. Thus the pictures were viewed. Copies were subsequently painted for Hardy by John Everett.
Upon the publication of Tess, the discussion of the ethical implications and moral values of Hardy's "message" reached feverish intensity, and finally assured him of large sales. Tess remains his best seller; it has even been filmed.
1894: Life's Little Ironies, the best of the collections of briefer stories; the most tragical and the most comical juxtaposed in A Few Crusted Characters.
1895: Jude the Obscure, the story of the male counter-
[161]
