Browse all books

Other editions of book The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

  • THE HAND OF ETHELBERTA: A COMEDY IN CHAPTERS

    HARDY THOMAS

    Hardcover (MacMillan and Co., Sept. 3, 1910)
    None
  • The Hand of Ethelberta

    Thomas Hardy

    (Independently published, April 5, 2020)
    Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old and well–appointed inn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. By her look and carriage she appeared to belong to that gentle order of society which has no worldly sorrow except when its jewellery gets stolen; but, as a fact not generally known, her claim to distinction was rather one of brains than of blood. She was the daughter of a gentleman who lived in a large house not his own, and began life as a baby christened Ethelberta after an infant of title who does not come into the story at all, having merely furnished Ethelberta’s mother with a subject of contemplation. She became teacher in a school, was praised by examiners, admired by gentlemen, not admired by gentlewomen, was touched up with accomplishments by masters who were coaxed into painstaking by her many graces, and, entering a mansion as governess to the daughter thereof, was stealthily married by the son. He, a minor like herself, died from a chill caught during the wedding tour, and a few weeks later was followed into the grave by Sir Ralph Petherwin, his unforgiving father, who had bequeathed his wealth to his wife absolutely.These calamities were a sufficient reason to Lady Petherwin for pardoning all concerned. She took by the hand the forlorn Ethelberta—who seemed rather a detached bride than a widow—and finished her education by placing her for two or three years in a boarding–school at Bonn. Latterly she had brought the girl to England to live under her roof as daughter and companion, the condition attached being that Ethelberta was never openly to recognize her relations, for reasons which will hereafter appear. The elegant young lady, as she had a full right to be called if she cared for the definition, arrested all the local attention when she emerged into the summer–evening light with that diadem–and–sceptre bearing—many people for reasons of heredity discovering such graces only in those whose vestibules are lined with ancestral mail, forgetting that a bear may be taught to dance. While this air of hers lasted, even the inanimate objects in the street appeared to know that she was there; but from a way she had of carelessly overthrowing her dignity by versatile moods, one could not calculate upon its presence to a certainty when she was round corners or in little lanes which demanded no repression of animal spirits.
  • The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters: Original

    Thomas Hardy

    (Independently published, June 3, 2020)
    The only novel from Hardy that that provides a lighter tale, The Hand of Ethelberta, gives account of the life of a woman who lifts herself to the higher classes of the society.Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old and well–appointed inn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. By her look and carriage she appeared to belong to that gentle order of society which has no worldly sorrow except when its jewellery gets stolen; but, as a fact not generally known, her claim to distinction was rather one of brains than of blood. She was the daughter of a gentleman who lived in a large house not his own, and began life as a baby christened Ethelberta after an infant of title who does not come into the story at all, having merely furnished Ethelberta’s mother with a subject of contemplation. She became teacher in a school, was praised by examiners, admired by gentlemen, not admired by gentlewomen, was touched up with accomplishments by masters who were coaxed into painstaking by her many graces, and, entering a mansion as governess to the daughter thereof, was stealthily married by the son. He, a minor like herself, died from a chill caught during the wedding tour, and a few weeks later was followed into the grave by Sir Ralph Petherwin, his unforgiving father, who had bequeathed his wealth to his wife absolutely.These calamities were a sufficient reason to Lady Petherwin for pardoning all concerned. She took by the hand the forlorn Ethelberta—who seemed rather a detached bride than a widow—and finished her education by placing her for two or three years in a boarding–school at Bonn. Latterly she had brought the girl to England to live under her roof as daughter and companion, the condition attached being that Ethelberta was never openly to recognize her relations, for reasons which will hereafter appear. The elegant young lady, as she had a full right to be called if she cared for the definition, arrested all the local attention when she emerged into the summer–evening light with that diadem–and–sceptre bearing—many people for reasons of heredity discovering such graces only in those whose vestibules are lined with ancestral mail, forgetting that a bear may be taught to dance. While this air of hers lasted, even the inanimate objects in the street appeared to know that she was there; but from a way she had of carelessly overthrowing her dignity by versatile moods, one could not calculate upon its presence to a certainty when she was round corners or in little lanes which demanded no repression of animal spirits.
  • The Hand of Ethelberta Illustrated

    Thomas Hardy

    Paperback (Independently published, Sept. 17, 2019)
    The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for the Cornhill Magazine, which was edited by Leslie Stephen, a friend and mentor of Hardy's. Unlike the majority of Hardy's fiction, the novel is a comedy, with both humour and a happy ending for the major characters and no suicides or tragic deaths. The late nineteenth century novelist George Gissing, who knew Hardy, considered it 'surely old Hardy's poorest book'
  • The Hand of Ethelberta Illustrated

    Thomas Hardy

    Paperback (Independently published, Sept. 22, 2019)
    The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for the Cornhill Magazine, which was edited by Leslie Stephen, a friend and mentor of Hardy's. Unlike the majority of Hardy's fiction, the novel is a comedy, with both humour and a happy ending for the major characters and no suicides or tragic deaths. The late nineteenth century novelist George Gissing, who knew Hardy, considered it 'surely old Hardy's poorest book'
  • The Hand of Ethelberta Illustrated

    Thomas Hardy

    (, Oct. 8, 2019)
    The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for the Cornhill Magazine, which was edited by Leslie Stephen, a friend and mentor of Hardy's. Unlike the majority of Hardy's fiction, the novel is a comedy, with both humour and a happy ending for the major characters and no suicides or tragic deaths. The late nineteenth century novelist George Gissing, who knew Hardy, considered it 'surely old Hardy's poorest book'
  • The Hand of Ethelberta Illustrated

    Thomas Hardy

    (, Sept. 24, 2019)
    The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for the Cornhill Magazine, which was edited by Leslie Stephen, a friend and mentor of Hardy's. Unlike the majority of Hardy's fiction, the novel is a comedy, with both humour and a happy ending for the major characters and no suicides or tragic deaths. The late nineteenth century novelist George Gissing, who knew Hardy, considered it 'surely old Hardy's poorest book'
  • The Hand of Ethelberta

    Thomas Hardy

    (Independently published, March 15, 2020)
    Ethelberta Petherwin, aka Berta Chickerel, moves with ease between her multiple identities, cleverly managing a brilliant career as a society poet in London. Her family act as her servants to help her conque the male-dominated literary world. Beautiful, clever, and rational, she soon attracts four very persistent suitors: Mr. Julian, Mr. Neigh, Mr. Ladywell, and Lord Mountclere.
  • The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters

    Thomas Hardy

    Leather Bound (Harper & Brothers, Sept. 3, 1900)
    None
  • The Hand of Ethelberta

    Thomas Hardy

    Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, July 10, 2012)
    Ethelberta is a poetess who struggles to support her family while juggling four very different suitors, in this unconventional historical romance by Thomas Hardy.
  • The Hand of Ethelberta

    Thomas Hardy

    Paperback (Independently published, Jan. 2, 2020)
    The only novel from Hardy that that provides a lighter tale, The Hand of Ethelberta, gives account of the life of a woman who lifts herself to the higher classes of the society.
  • The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy Unabridged 1876 Original Version

    Thomas Hardy

    Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Aug. 2, 2017)
    The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy Unabridged 1876 Original Version