Life's Little Ironies

by Thomas Hardy, Alan Manford (Editor)

Overview

Life's Little Ironies (a phrase coined by Hardy) was Thomas Hardy's third collection of short stories. The volume's eight stories and one sequence of shorter tales (presented in a Canterbury Tales-type framework) had all appeared first in magazines before being gathered together in 1894. Not only do they reflect the strengths and themes of his great novels – they are also themselves powerful works, encompassing tragedy and humour. Part of the Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Short Stories of Thomas Hardy, this volume presents an authoritative text which aims to reflect Hardy's original artistic intentions. A full scholarly apparatus includes every authorial revision, from manuscript (where extant) onwards, enabling readers to trace Hardy's creative process. An introductory essay gives details of the stories' composition, publishing history and critical reception; there are comprehensive explanatory notes and a glossary, and the illustrations that accompanied the stories' magazine publication also provide valuable context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108491433
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/19/2023
Series:	The Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Stories of Thomas Hardy
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.38(d)

About the Author

REAL AUTHOR – DECEASED.

Alan Manford is the editor of a 1985 edition of Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes and a 1996 edition of Life's Little Ironies. He is also the editor of Hardy's novel The Woodlanders (The Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Stories of Thomas Hardy, 2019). He is the author of several articles concerning Hardy alongside his self-published novels and poetry.

Date of Birth:

June 2, 1840

Date of Death:

January 11, 1928

Place of Birth:

Higher Brockhampon, Dorset, England

Place of Death:

Max Gate, Dorchester, England

Education:

Served as apprentice to architect James Hicks

Table of Contents

Introduction; Life's Little Ironies: The Son's Veto; For Conscience' Sake; A Tragedy of Two Ambitions; On the Western Circuit; To Please his Wife; The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion; The Fiddler of the Reels; A Tradition of Eighteen Hundred and Four; A Few Crusted Characters; Apparatus; Editorial Emendations; Textual Notes; Record of Variants – Accidentals; End-of-line Word Division; Appendices; Explanatory Notes; Glossary of Dialect Terms.