A prolific novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy bridged the late Victorian period and the early modern age. He is best known for his novels of tragic intensity, works that have become the staple of high school and college literature courses:Tess of the d'Urbervilles,Jude the Obscure,The Mayor of Casterbridge,Far from the Madding Crowd, andThe Return of the Native. Students of literature will find a new selection of critical essays focusing on Hardy and his works, complete with an introduction from master scholar Harold Bloom, a bibliography, a chronology of Hardy's life, and an index for easy reference.

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Excerpted from Thomas Hardy, New Edition
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