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Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Genre: Classic Literature / Victorian Novel / Tragedy / Romance / Social Criticism

Book Review:
Thomas Hardy called The Woodlanders (1887) his “favourite” novel. Set in the remote woodland village of Little Hintock, it tells the story of Giles Winterborne, an honest woodsman, and the two women who love him: the plain, faithful Marty South and the educated, ambitious Grace Melbury. Grace returns from boarding school and rejects Giles for the sophisticated young doctor Edred Fitzpiers — with disastrous results. Hardy explores the clash between old rural traditions and modern ambitions, the tragedy of unfulfilled love, and the cruelty of social class. The novel is less famous than Tess or Jude, but many readers consider it Hardy’s most perfectly crafted tragedy. This Penguin Popular Classics edition is complete and unabridged. A must-read for Hardy fans