The Return Of The Native (Annotated)

This edition incorporates an original introduction from Moorside Press, including a biography, a critical discussion of Hardy's place in the history of British Literature and a short contextual discussion of the book.. Published in 1878 as a serial in the Belgravia magazine, The Return of the Native was Hardy's seventh novel and serves as a tragic episode in the author's Wessex series. The plot concerns the varied fortunes of Eustace Vye, a beautiful but flawed young woman, and Damon Wildeve as they at first fail to live a life together and then subsequently agree to the notion only for fate, in the guise of tragic coincidence, to intervene.. The plot has a certain complexity to it that gives it a modern air, notably, for example, leading off with the fortunes of two secondary but important characters who, by the end, provide a suitable epilogue that goes some way to balance to tragic outcomes of the leading protagonists. The novel was not received well at the time due to Eustace's flawed nature and the implicit inclusion of sexual infidelities. It is, however, and remains, one of Hardy's most popular stories.