Thomas Hardy in Context: (Literature in Context)

This collection covers the range of Thomas Hardy's works and their social and intellectual contexts, providing a comprehensive introduction to Hardy's life and times. Featuring short, lively contributions from forty-four international scholars, the volume explores the processes by which Hardy the man became Hardy the published writer; the changing critical responses to his work; his response to the social and political challenges of his time; his engagement with contemporary intellectual debate; and his legacy in the twentieth century and after. Emphasising the subtle and ongoing interaction between Hardy's life, his creative achievement and the unique historical moment, the collection also examines Hardy's relationship to such issues as class, education, folklore, archaeology and anthropology, evolution, marriage and masculinity, empire and the arts. A valuable contextual reference for scholars of Victorian and modernist literature, the collection will also prove accessible for the general reader of Hardy.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations; Preface; Note on editions; List of abbreviations; Chronology Phillip Mallett; Part I. Life and Works: 1. Life and life David Amigoni; 2. Memoirs and recollections Trish Ferguson; 3. Friendships William Greenslade; 4. The public Hardy Simon Gatrell; 5. Serial into volume Andrew Nash; 6. Illustration Pamela Dalziel; Part II. Critical Fortunes: 7. Critical responses I: the novels to 1970 Sarah Maier; 8. Critical responses II: the novels from 1970 Tim Dolin; 9. Hardy's poets as his critics Peter Robinson; Part III. The Literary Scene: 10. Thomas Hardy and realism Francis O'Gorman; 11. Tragedy and the novel K. K. Newton; 12. Hardy and the short story Sophie Gilmartin; 13. Poet, poetry, poem Francesco Marroni; 14. The Dynasts in epic context Herbert Tucker; Part IV. The Historical and Cultural Context: 15. Hardy and social class Christine Devine; 16. 'The Dorsetshire Labourer' Fred Reid; 17. Education and social class Jane Mattisson; 18. Hardy and the sociological imagination Roger Ebbatson; 19. Folklore and anthropology Andrew Radford; 20. Archaeology Rebecca Welshman; 21. The Victorian philological contexts of Hardy's poetry Dennis Taylor; 22. Physics, geology, astronomy Adelene Buckland; 23. Culture Mary Rimmer; 24. Hardy and hellenism Shannon Fiske; 25. Faith and doubt Norman Vance; 26. Hardy's philosophy Mark Asquith; 27. Positivism: Comte and Mill T. R. Wright; 28. Hardy and the law Melanie Williams; 29. Hardy, Darwin and The Origin of Species Phillip Mallett; 30. Heredity Angelique Richardson; 31. Psychology Jenny Bourne Taylor; 32. Marriage Ann Heilmann; 33. The new woman Carolyn Burdett; 34. Hardy and masculinity Elizabeth Langland; 35. Hardy's London Keith Wilson; 36. Hardy and Englishness Patrick Parrinder; 37. Empire Jane Bownas and Rena Jackson; 38. Hardy, militarism and war Glen Wickens; 39. Hardy and music John Hughes; 40. Thomas Hardy and the visual arts Jane Thomas; Part V. Legacies: 41. Lawrence's Hardy Michael Herbert; 42. Larkin's Hardy John Osborne; 43. Hardy on film Roger Webster; Further reading.

About the Author :
Phillip Mallett is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews. He has edited a number of collections of essays, including Satire, Kipling Considered, Thomas Hardy: Texts and Contexts and The Achievement of Thomas Hardy, as well as critical editions of both The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge. His book, Rudyard Kipling: A Literary Life, was published in 2003.

Review :
'The anthology's absorbing 'Historical and Cultural Context' section sheds light on Hardy's interests in anthropology, law, geology, sociology, and 'Englishness'. Contributors provide abundant endnotes and broad-ranging sources, and the 'Further Reading' section and index are excellent … Hardy, the 'Wessex' creator, is fortunate to have such impressive material available for modern readers and serious students of Victorian literature … Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' S. A. Parker, Choice