Thomas Hardy's Dorset

Hopkins, R. Thurston (Robert Thurston), 1884-1958Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 297K words
Chapters: 30

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Thomas Hardy's Dorset by R. Thurston HopkinsAuthor: Hopkins, R. Thurston (Robert Thurston), 1884-1958,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 26, 2013

Editor's review

This book by R. Thurston Hopkins is a work centered on Thomas Hardy and the Dorset region, best understood within the context of Hardy studies, English regional literature, and literary geography. Its value lies not in providing plot summaries of the novels but in presenting the English rural spaces, local features, and human atmosphere in which Hardy's works are set, helping readers connect literary reading with a sense of place. The free electronic edition from Project Gutenberg makes the book easy to search, excerpt, and read alongside maps, and it is especially suited as supplementary material for reading Hardy. Note that this is an English public-domain e-book from an earlier era, and its prose and observational perspective bear the marks of their time; readers should approach its local accounts with a critical eye. Overall, it is better suited to those with some grounding in Hardy who are willing to explore the relationship between place and text, rather than to first-time readers or those seeking systematic literary criticism.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers currently reading Thomas Hardy's novels who wish to understand the Dorset background
Research-oriented readers interested in English literary geography and depictions of local features
Literature students needing English public-domain material for close reading or reference searches
General readers who enjoy reading literature alongside maps and travel accounts

Not a good fit for

Readers completely new to Hardy who need an introductory guide
Readers expecting systematic literary criticism or a complete author biography
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are unaccustomed to English public-domain books

Reading tips

Read one or two Hardy novels first, then use this book to understand the local atmosphere and sense of space in Dorset.
Read with maps or local gazetteers at hand, cross-referencing places in the book with scenes in Hardy's works.
Dip into chapters relevant to the novel you are reading rather than reading straight through.
Annotate passages with a strong period flavor, distinguishing literary imagination from local reportage.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book written by Thomas Hardy?

No. The author is R. Thurston Hopkins; the title Thomas Hardy's Dorset refers to writing about Hardy and the Dorset region, not to a work by Hardy himself. Readers should note the distinction between the author and his subject.

Can I read this book without having read Hardy's novels?

You can, but the rewards will be limited. The book is better used as supplementary material to Hardy's works; if you are first familiar with the scenes and characters of novels such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles, its accounts of Dorset will be easier to understand in their literary-geographical significance.

Is this book suitable as literary research material?

It can be used as supplementary material, especially when examining Hardy's relationship to local space. But it is not a systematic scholarly work and was written long ago, its views and expressions bearing the marks of their time; citations should be checked against other research literature.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

This is an English public-domain e-book published by Project Gutenberg, easy to search and excerpt. Using annotation-capable reading software, noting correspondences between places and Hardy's works as you read, and using map tools alongside will improve the experience.

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About the author

Hopkins, R. Thurston (Robert Thurston), 1884-1958 Author · British · 1884–1958

R. Thurston Hopkins (1884–1958) was a British writer and folklore researcher. His work centres on ghost stories and rural legends, drawing on local English settings and oral folk narratives and often evoking an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. He was a prolific author and found a readership in his own day. He is best known for Thomas Hardy's Dorset, a book that explores the Dorset localities associated with Hardy, combining literary geography with the character of the countryside; it serves as a companion to the background of Hardy's writings. Public information about the details of his life is limited, and his biography and full body of work have not been thoroughly documented, so assessments of him rest mainly on these themes and works.