Overview
Thomas Hardy's Major Novels provides a needed update of contemporary criticism on the important English novelist. Unlike existing bibliographies, this volume specifically addresses the needs of both college teachers and scholars, as well as those teachers without an intense background in the work of Thomas Hardy. The bibliography furnishes a lengthy background into the time period and literary context of each novel. Referenced works are representative of current critical work that exists from a number of different schools of thought and interpretation. The annotated bibliography provides complete, informative, yet concise summaries, as well as evaluations of the value of the source. The bulk of the bibliography is divided into six sections, each focused on secondary sources pertaining to specific Thomas Hardy novels including: Far From the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Woodlanders, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. The sources are grouped into subsections organized around the thrust of the Hardy study, whether it relates to the circumstances of composition, comparative work, discussion relating to the nature of the novel, salient features of the novel, or studies of character analysis.