Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Wordsworth Editions Ltd (1998), Edition: Revised, 192 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: Known for such novels as Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy delves deeper into the genre of historical romance in this stirring portrait of the various entanglements and amorous intrigues that arise among a group of church musicians in rural England. Hearts are broken along the way, and though the novel ends with a wedding, did the right pair find each other in time? Under the Greenwood Tree is an engaging read that fans of historical romance will enjoy..
User reviews
LibraryThing member Cariola
A charming novel set in the Yorkshire countryside, devoid of the usual darkness typical of other Hardy novels, such as Jude the Obscure, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, and others. As always, his characters are well rounded, displaying very human flaws that make them all the
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more endearing. Fancy Day, despite her love for Dick Dewey, can't resist flattery and a chance to show herself off; Dick himself has a bit of a jealous streak. But overall, Hardy creates that wonderful sense of community and slower-paced days that we seem to long for in our times. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I really loved this slim book. Hardy is a fantastic writer. Considering this was only his second published novel and his big hits are yet to come it might have been expected that this book would be lightweight. But it's not.
The story is classic. Boy sees lovely girl and immediately falls in love.
I could see this as a western or a modern romance; that's how classic this story is. What makes it unique is Hardy's descriptive prose. His portrayal of the windy, rainy day when Fancy is walking home from her fathers leapt off the page and I could see the tree boughs whipping around every which way. He also has great characters although the main characters aren't as interesting as the secondary ones like the tranter and the "witch".
The story is classic. Boy sees lovely girl and immediately falls in love.
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Girl pretends she doesn't see him but he persists and she admits she loves him. Father refuses the match because boy isn't rich or well-educated. Girl goes into a decline and father relents. A wedding date is set. Then a well-educated man proposes to girl and she is tempted but she realizes she can't do that to boy and she refuses him. Boy and girl get married but girl keeps secret of the proposal. They ride off into the sunset together.I could see this as a western or a modern romance; that's how classic this story is. What makes it unique is Hardy's descriptive prose. His portrayal of the windy, rainy day when Fancy is walking home from her fathers leapt off the page and I could see the tree boughs whipping around every which way. He also has great characters although the main characters aren't as interesting as the secondary ones like the tranter and the "witch".
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LibraryThing member justmeRosalie
I have read this book twice. It's easy reading and goes along smoothly. The second time was just a return visit and it was much more enjoyable. It's a charming portrait of country life with undemanding characters and a lighthearted approach...rather different from other Hardy novels. It's not
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serious. You can just sit back and relax as you get acquainted with the folk and learn to love each of them for their own special appeal. It's refreshing, charming, good for a lazy afternoon indulgence, and just could become one of your favorite Hardy novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member quoddy
I wouldn't say it was a bad book; it was wonderfully written. However, I've seen Hardy do much better. So do not read this as your first taste of Hardy, but rather as a book that shows his novel-writing development.
LibraryThing member aoifelen
A perfect bed at 10pm read. This novel showed a new side of Hardy to me. Having previously read 'The Mayor of Castorbridge' 'Far from the Madding Crowd', this novel surprised me... TBC
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
Kindle. Read for Ali's Hardy Reading Project.
I enjoyed his second novel greatly, in which sly Fancy sets the men of various levels of village society against each other; an improvement on his last melodramatic outing, although I felt it was a bit slight and quick to read (hard to tell on a Kindle,
I enjoyed his second novel greatly, in which sly Fancy sets the men of various levels of village society against each other; an improvement on his last melodramatic outing, although I felt it was a bit slight and quick to read (hard to tell on a Kindle,
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though!). Lovely countryside descriptions, although not as intimately woven into the plot as they will be. I'm really enjoying seeing the development and progress of his writing, reading them in order like this! Show Less
LibraryThing member Kat1979
C- Hardy's done better.
LibraryThing member milti
This is much softer than his other more well known novels.
LibraryThing member kaitanya64
This is considered Hardy's most gentle novel. The story of a poor boy and the school mistress he loves, Hardy does weave in questions about the conventional wisdom of honesty and the nature of romantic love. While the book ends (you knew it would) with a happy wedding, the questions about how well
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courting couples really know each other linger in the reader's mind, as Hardy is careful not to resolve every question raised. Show Less
LibraryThing member jon1lambert
I liked this edition in my youth - the Greenwood edition - and having come across a copy with its black, red and white dust wrapper, I am going to reread this novel which is more joyous than some other Hardy stories.
LibraryThing member m.belljackson
Gaffers and gamers gather around The Greenwood Tree to consider their musical fate, to ponder the past,
and to mull over both the present and the future.
Characters are lightly presented, with none that may draw readers close as in Thomas Hardy's other novels.
His usual compelling depictions of
No reason is ever given to resolve why the church could not have BOTH an organist and a choir.
and to mull over both the present and the future.
Characters are lightly presented, with none that may draw readers close as in Thomas Hardy's other novels.
His usual compelling depictions of
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landscape and place are similarly missing.No reason is ever given to resolve why the church could not have BOTH an organist and a choir.
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LibraryThing member Limelite
Who knew Hardy could write romcoms? As expected, the setting is rural England, the local dialect is thick, and the performance of this audio title is perfectly delightful as delivered by actor, Robert Hardy of All Creatures Great and Small TV fame, no relation.
But because of the thickness of the
Fortunately, this is a simple tale of a village boy and a maiden schoolmarm that has the usual tropes of wholesome love stories set in the 19th C. Everyone in the book is likeable, even the hero's rival is a bit of all right, to use the vernacular. Hardy portrays male and female characters with sympathy and affection. And his descritions of the countryside are drawn from true love. While he creates laughable personalities, he does not laugh at them himself. He writes with true warmth and delight about the lives, tribulations, and quirks of villagers with whom we get to spend a year in their community that revolves around their church and choir, which, to the all-male singers, is about to be replaced by a pretty organist, if our rival's intentions come to fruition. Counter operations are plotted by well-lubricated minds.
Oh, the conflict, the spats, and the headaches from too much drinking!
If you find other Hardy novels heavy going, don't dismiss him as unreadable until you give yourself the joyful experience of reading this charming rural romance.
But because of the thickness of the
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characters' dialectical speech, listening to the novel for long periods was difficult for me. Intense attention is needed to tune to the farmers' and tradesmens' speech. Then it has to be "translated" into modern American English in order to understand dialogues and the jokes of the humorous personalities as they deliver their lines, as it were.Fortunately, this is a simple tale of a village boy and a maiden schoolmarm that has the usual tropes of wholesome love stories set in the 19th C. Everyone in the book is likeable, even the hero's rival is a bit of all right, to use the vernacular. Hardy portrays male and female characters with sympathy and affection. And his descritions of the countryside are drawn from true love. While he creates laughable personalities, he does not laugh at them himself. He writes with true warmth and delight about the lives, tribulations, and quirks of villagers with whom we get to spend a year in their community that revolves around their church and choir, which, to the all-male singers, is about to be replaced by a pretty organist, if our rival's intentions come to fruition. Counter operations are plotted by well-lubricated minds.
Oh, the conflict, the spats, and the headaches from too much drinking!
If you find other Hardy novels heavy going, don't dismiss him as unreadable until you give yourself the joyful experience of reading this charming rural romance.
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
Under the Greenwood Tree was the first of Hardy's Wessex novels, and his first commercially successful novel after his first novel Desperate Remedies flopped. First published in 1872, in the 20 years subsequent he updated the book several times when it was republished by different houses, mainly to
It's easy to spot this as an early Hardy novel; it bears none of his later hallmarks of tragedy or the country descriptions that envelop you so completely in novels such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles or The Return of the Native. I missed the prickle of the furze and the squelch of the turf which transport you back to a bygone era in his other novels. Moreover, I heartily missed the usual Hardy tragedy that cuts you like a knife.
Under the Greenwood Tree is a gentle pastoral novel that focuses on the day-to-day lives of regular country inhabitants. The plot typifies the inconsequential happenings in a rural parish - a new, attractive schoolmistress puts the noses of the men of the church quire out of joint as the entranced vicar allows the equally enchanted church warden to persuade him that the new schoolmistress should now lead the church music on the organ. Meanwhile, the tranter's son has also fallen head over heels for her charms, but can he win his heart given his lowly social position in comparison with the wealth of the churchwarden or vicar?
It's the shortest of Hardy's Wessex novels, and gratifyingly so as it meanders and weaves with no real plot surprises. Compared to his other Wessex novels it disappoints, but there's enough there to while away a few enjoyable hours on a rainy day.
3 stars - interesting enough, but I'm afraid Hardy has set the bar too high in his later novels for this to warrant much attention.
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bring it more in keeping with the topography and social networks of his subsequent and more popular Wessex novels. This Penguin edition was the original text (save for corrections of spelling and punctuation), and I appreciated reading it in its original intended form without the later polishing.It's easy to spot this as an early Hardy novel; it bears none of his later hallmarks of tragedy or the country descriptions that envelop you so completely in novels such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles or The Return of the Native. I missed the prickle of the furze and the squelch of the turf which transport you back to a bygone era in his other novels. Moreover, I heartily missed the usual Hardy tragedy that cuts you like a knife.
Under the Greenwood Tree is a gentle pastoral novel that focuses on the day-to-day lives of regular country inhabitants. The plot typifies the inconsequential happenings in a rural parish - a new, attractive schoolmistress puts the noses of the men of the church quire out of joint as the entranced vicar allows the equally enchanted church warden to persuade him that the new schoolmistress should now lead the church music on the organ. Meanwhile, the tranter's son has also fallen head over heels for her charms, but can he win his heart given his lowly social position in comparison with the wealth of the churchwarden or vicar?
It's the shortest of Hardy's Wessex novels, and gratifyingly so as it meanders and weaves with no real plot surprises. Compared to his other Wessex novels it disappoints, but there's enough there to while away a few enjoyable hours on a rainy day.
3 stars - interesting enough, but I'm afraid Hardy has set the bar too high in his later novels for this to warrant much attention.
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LibraryThing member gmillar
When I started reading this book I was somewhat annoyed at the plethora of similes. I thought that Hardy might have been a bit like Ruskin who I believed to be very pleased with himself to the detriment of his storytelling. But, the book turned into a delightful story of a year in the lives of
A most enjoyable story.
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English country folk. It is centered around two young people who end up married and partying with their friends and family "Under the Greenwood Tree".A most enjoyable story.
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LibraryThing member nordie
Under the Greenwood Tree" is the story of the romantic entanglement between church musician, Dick Dewey, and the attractive new school mistress, Fancy Day. A pleasant romantic tale set in the Victorian era, "Under the Greenwood Tree" is one of Thomas Hardy's most gentle and pastoral novels.
Second
This is a shorter, lighter book that is also easier to read that Desperate Remedies. It is about a small local community, and the story starts with description of the "choir" (singers and musicians) who are going round the houses (often isolated) one Christmas night. They briefly glimpse sight of the new school teacher - Miss Day - who becomes the centre of attention.
She and Dick Dewy fall in love, but their engagement faces obstacles from both her father and the fact that other men are vying for her hand. As a subplot the choir, who also accompany the mass, find that they will be ousted, to be replaced by a new organ, which the vicar has decided will be played by Miss Day, even though she has stated that she doesnt want to..
It is a much happier book than DR, has a more continuous flow in the narrative (although being split into 4 "seasons"). As I was not struggling with the narrative on this one, I was able to pay better attention to Hardy's descriptions of nature, and it was much more pleasing.
Second
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book to be read in the local "Hardy Readers" bookgroup after Desperate Remedies.This is a shorter, lighter book that is also easier to read that Desperate Remedies. It is about a small local community, and the story starts with description of the "choir" (singers and musicians) who are going round the houses (often isolated) one Christmas night. They briefly glimpse sight of the new school teacher - Miss Day - who becomes the centre of attention.
She and Dick Dewy fall in love, but their engagement faces obstacles from both her father and the fact that other men are vying for her hand. As a subplot the choir, who also accompany the mass, find that they will be ousted, to be replaced by a new organ, which the vicar has decided will be played by Miss Day, even though she has stated that she doesnt want to..
It is a much happier book than DR, has a more continuous flow in the narrative (although being split into 4 "seasons"). As I was not struggling with the narrative on this one, I was able to pay better attention to Hardy's descriptions of nature, and it was much more pleasing.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1872
Physical description
192 p.; 7.75 inches
ISBN
1853262277 / 9781853262272