Thomas Hardy's Short Stories: New Perspectives , Schaefer, Brownson..

Name: Thomas Hardy's Short Stories: New Perspectives , Schaefer, Brownson..
Brand: Taylor & Francis

Taylor & Francis

While reviews of Hardy\u2019s later novels typically split between conservative disapproval and progressive acclaim, the contemporary reception of Hardy\u2019s second collection of stories, first issued at Christmas 1890, was exceptionally uncertain. This monograph attempts to explain why by approaching the work from a book-historical viewpoint. It concludes that, though the collection shares modernist concerns via its materialist thematics of gender and sexuality as well its manipulation of alienated viewpoint and ironical tone, both its initial publishing format and residual literary form urge it in a counter direction, thus fissuring the work between contrary commitments to the traditional \""tale\"" and modern \""short story.\"" > Thomas Hardy penned nearly fifty short stories, but in spite of this impressive number, his contributions to the genre have been relatively understudied. Bringing together an international group of scholars, this is the first edited collection devoted soS