Thomas Hardy, Desperate Remedies

Anna Spydell (Sewanee, University of the South)
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Desperate Remedies

was the first published work of English author Thomas Hardy. It appeared in 1871 after his first manuscript,

The Poor Man and the Lady

, was rejected for publication. Hardy was encouraged by George Meredith to write a novel with “more plot”, with

Desperate Remedies

being the result (

DR

, Oxford World’s Classics, ix). Published anonymously in three volumes,

Desperate Remedies

was met by middling-to-bad reviews, and the novel went out of print until 1889, when it was re-published in an edition by Ward and Downey.

Desperate Remedies’ place within the context of Wessex is tenuous and it has changed over time. As the novel was originally written before Hardy had conceived of Wessex, the places in the 1871 Tinsley Brothers edition and the 1874 American edition from Henry

2392 words

Citation: Spydell, Anna. "Desperate Remedies". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5633, accessed 28 March 2024.]

5633 Desperate Remedies 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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