Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native

Chengping Zhang

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1878

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Written between 1877 and 1878,

The Return of the Native

was Thomas Hardy’s sixth novel, coming after the successful

Far from the Madding Crowd

(1874), which established his fame as a promising pastoral novelist, and the not-so-satisfactory

The Hand of Ethelberta

(1876), a social comedy which was received without enthusiasm. After completing

The Hand of Ethelberta

, Hardy spent some time reading Shakespeare, Goethe, Scott and George Sand, as recommended by Leslie Stephen, the editor of the

Cornhill

, which had serialized both novels. By doing so Hardy intended to “learn the best line” as he explains in one of his letters (

Collected Letters

43) and reconsider his literary choices. The fruit turned out to be

The Return of the Native

, Hardy’s most ambitious attempt to create a work of…

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4254 words

Citation: Zhang, Chengping. "The Return of the Native". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7573, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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