Thomas Hardy: A Textual Study of the Short Stories

by Martin Ray

Overview

This is the definitive textual analysis of all of Hardy's collected short stories, tracing the development of each from manuscript, through newspaper serial versions, galley proofs and revises to collected editions in volume form. It is no surprise to discover that Hardy's capacity for inveterate revision is manifested in his tales as it was in his novels. Even those stories for which he professed little regard were meticulously and continuously revised, in some cases more than thirty years after their first publication. The alterations extend to the most minute details of plot, landscape, characterisation and style, as well as the restoration of bowdlerised passages which had been demanded by serial magazines. This study will play a major role in elevating the importance of this genre in Hardy's prolific output and will illuminate his textual practices - an area of considerable and growing interest to a large number of scholars and students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781859282021
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/18/1997
Series:	The Nineteenth Century Series
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Martin Ray

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Part One: Wessex Tales; Part Two: A Group of Noble Dames; Part Three: Life's Little Ironies; Part Four: A Changed Man and Other Tales.

Editorial Reviews

’Meticulous and highly detailed research..This study will obviously serve as a reference work for students of Hardy’s writing practice and his professional dealings with the literary marketplace.’ Nineteenth-Century Literature

From the Publisher