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From: rogers@reed.UUCP (Michael Rogers)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: clever idea (sort of) (Thomas Hardy)
Message-ID: <921@reed.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 11-Feb-85 19:48:52 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.921
Posted: Mon Feb 11 19:48:52 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 07:44:55 EST
References: <518@unc.UUCP>
Reply-To: rogers@reed.UUCP (Mike Rogers)
Followup-To: net.books
Distribution: net
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 18
Keywords: Hardy
Summary: 

I don't think that Hardy is twit though I have heard
a few people express such sentiments.  I read JUDE THE OBSCURE
about four years ago and found it an excellent (but
depressing) novel.  Another good one by Hardy is
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD which, like JUDE, is about
a young man struggling to live within the outdated
Victorian social structure.  "Madding" is an outdated
contraction of "maddening."

JUDE THE OBSCURE was Hardy's last novel (1895), and the best
among the 3-4 that I have read.  The immediate response
of the critics was outrage.  A bishop burned his copy
(which Hardy in a later postscript to the book said
was in lieu of the author himself).  This response prompted
Hardy to quit writing novels and to compose soley poetry.

		-mike rogers
		tektronix!reed!rogers