The Woodlanders

Thomas Hardy

Macmillan, 2005 - Children's literature, English - 95 pages

The story takes place in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, and concerns the efforts of an honest woodsman, Giles Winterborne, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury. Although they have been informally betrothed for some time, her father has made financial sacrifices to give his adored only child a superior education and no longer considers Giles good enough for her. When the new doctor - a well-born and handsome young man named Edred Fitzpiers - takes an interest in Grace, her father does all he can to make Grace forget Giles, and to encourage what he sees as a brilliant match.

What people are saying

Review: The Woodlanders

User Review  - Jessica - Goodreads

Anyone expecting a happy ending should not be reading this book. It is a literary masterpiece and a great demonstration of how life is not fair and how the different classes and society groups operate ...

About the author

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in Higher Bockhampton, England. The eldest child of Thomas and Jemima, Hardy studied Latin, French, and architecture in school. He also became an avid reader. Upon graduation, Hardy traveled to London to work as an architect's assistant under the guidance of Arthur Bloomfield. He also began writing poetry. How I Built Myself a House, Hardy's first professional article, was published in 1865. Two years later, while still working in the architecture field, Hardy wrote the unpublished novel The Poor Man and the Lady. During the next five years, Hardy penned Desperate Remedies, Under the Greenwood Tree, and A Pair of Blue Eyes. In 1873, Hardy decided it was time to relinquish his architecture career and concentrate on writing full-time. In September 1874, his first book as a full-time author, Far from the Madding Crowd, appeared serially. After publishing more than two dozen novels, one of the last being Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy returned to writing poetry--his first love. Hardy's volumes of poetry include Poems of the Past and Present, The Dynasts: Part One, Two, and Three, Time's Laughingstocks, and The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall. From 1833 until his death, Hardy lived in Dorchester, England. His house, Max Gate, was designed by Hardy, who also supervised its construction. Hardy died on January 11, 1928. His ashes are buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Woodlanders; Macmillan Readers; Macmillan readers: Intermediate level
• Author: Thomas Hardy
• Contributor: Margaret Tarner
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Macmillan, 2005
• ISBN: 1405073195, 9781405073196
• Length: 95 pages