Books with title The Return of the Native - MP3 CD Audiobook

Amidst the fireworks and celebrations of Guy Fawkes Night, a covered wagon winds its way along the dark country heath land. Hidden at the back is a young woman who is running away from a thwarted marriage ceremony with the local innkeeper. The driver of the wagon, a young herdsman, is secretly in love with her but is so devoted that he vows to help her reunite with her useless lover. The opening scenes of Thomas Hardy's sixth novel The Return of the Native, form the backdrop to this story of a profoundly flawed woman and the men who fall in love with her.The book itself had a controversial debut, something which greeted many of Hardy's novels at that time. It first appeared in serial form in 1878 in the Belgravia magazine, which was notorious for its risqué and sensational content. The radical themes explored by Hardy in the novel prevented many publishers from daring to accept it. However, today it is considered one of the finest Victorian novels and one that marks a great shift in the moral universe of the time.Set in the famous, fictional Hardy country Wessex, The Return of the Native also takes place here in this imaginary county of his own creation. This novel's action is focused in Egdon Heath in Wessex, and occurs across the time frame of exactly one year and one day. Probably for the first time in English literary history, a book was written that takes a frank and objective look at concepts like illicit physical and romantic relationships, the conflict between human impulse and societal restraint and the tragedy that awaits those who fly in the face of convention. For Hardy, these were enduring themes that he explored time and again, despite the moral outrage that greeted most of his novels. Unforgettable characters like Diggory Venn, the “reddleman” who rescues his beloved Thomasin Yeobright from a failed elopement, the haughty black haired beauty Eustacia Vye, the bitter and superstitious Susan Nunsuch and many more make this a truly panoramic novel.

Clim Yeobright, tired of city life, returns from Paris to open a school on Egdon Heath and, in spite of the opposition of his mother, marries Eustacia Vye, a passionate, pleasure-loving girl who hopes to persuade him to return to Paris. The Return of the Native was controversial in its day, causing quite a stir when it first appeared in the January-December 1878 issues of the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism. Because of the novel's risqué themes, author Thomas Hardy had difficulty finding a publisher. Today, The Return of the Native is one of Hardy's most popular novels.

From master of the Victorian novel, Thomas Hardy…Eustacia Vye is cut off from the world in her grandfather's lonely cottage. Clym Yeobright seems to offer everything she dreams of: passion, excitement, and the opportunity to escape. However, Clym's ambitions are quite different from hers, and marriage only increases Eustacia's destructive restlessness. This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

This edition incorporates an original introduction from Moorside Press, including a biography, a critical discussion of Hardy's place in the history of British Literature and a short contextual discussion of the book.Published in 1878 as a serial in the Belgravia magazine, The Return of the Native was Hardy's seventh novel and serves as a tragic episode in the author's Wessex series. The plot concerns the varied fortunes of Eustace Vye, a beautiful but flawed young woman, and Damon Wildeve as they at first fail to live a life together and then subsequently agree to the notion only for fate, in the guise of tragic coincidence, to intervene.The plot has a certain complexity to it that gives it a modern air, notably, for example, leading off with the fortunes of two secondary but important characters who, by the end, provide a suitable epilogue that goes some way to balance to tragic outcomes of the leading protagonists. The novel was not received well at the time due to Eustace's flawed nature and the implicit inclusion of sexual infidelities. It is, however, and remains, one of Hardy's most popular stories.

This fine novel sets in opposition two of Thomas Hardy’s most unforgettable creations: his heroine, the sensuous, free-spirited Eustacia Vye, and the solemn, majestic stretch of upland in Dorsetshire he called Egdon Heath. The famous opening reveals the haunting power of that dark, forbidding moor where proud Eustacia fervently awaits a clandestine meeting with her lover, Damon Wildeve. But Eustacia’s dreams of escape are not to be realized—neither Wildeve nor the returning native Clym Yeobright can bring her salvation.Injured by forces beyond their control, Hardy’s characters struggle vainly in the net of destiny. In the end, only the face of the lonely heath remains untouched by fate in this masterpiece of tragic passion, a tale that perfectly epitomizes the author’s own unique and melancholy genius.

The Return of the Native may be Thomas Hardy’s finest writing. His descriptive and lyrical powers are at their height, his evocation of the wilds of Egdon Heath unmatched, his dissection of Eustacia and Clym’s marriage unimpeachable. Perhaps nowhere else is Hardy’s point that the universe is simply indifferent more compellingly made. Winner of the British Spoken Word Publishing Association’s “Talkie Award” for Best Unabridged Classic Recording, this performance was commended by the Financial Times as “right for this tragic story of passion and loss.”

The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Because of the novel's controversial themes, Hardy had some difficulty finding a publisher; reviews, however, though somewhat mixed, were generally positive. In the twentieth century, The Return of the Native became one of Hardy's most popular and highly regarded novels.