The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses, covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn is slowly crossing the heath with his van, which is being drawn by ponies. In his van is a passenger. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasising-not for the last time-the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens. Venn is a reddleman; he travels the country ...
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The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses, covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn is slowly crossing the heath with his van, which is being drawn by ponies. In his van is a passenger. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasising-not for the last time-the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens. Venn is a reddleman; he travels the country supplying farmers with a red mineral called reddle (dialect term for red ochre) that farmers use to mark their sheep. Although his trade has stained him red from head to foot, underneath his devilish colouring he is a handsome, shrewd, well-meaning young man. His passenger is a young woman named Thomasin Yeobright, whom Venn is taking home. Earlier that day, Thomasin had planned to marry Damon Wildeve, a local innkeeper known for his fickleness; however, an inconsistency in the marriage licence delayed the marriage. Thomasin, in distress, ran after the reddleman's van and asked him to take her home. Venn himself is in love with Thomasin, and unsuccessfully wooed her two years before. Now, although he believes Wildeve is unworthy of her love, he is so devoted to her that he is willing to help her secure the man of her choice.
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Add this copy of The Return of the Native to cart. $32.46, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by CreateSpace Independent Publis.
Return of the Native is Hardy at his very best, it is beautifully dark and dangerous, from the start to almost the very end. The characters are sublime yet believable, and the heath (the most important character of them all) positively oozes suspence and unpredictablilty. The turbulate relationships scream out disaster, and fill any reader with a sense of forboding and a desperate wish for a happy ending. However the 'Happy' end is not so comforting when it comes as it seems strangly out of place with the rest of the novel. Overall Return of the native presents a beautiful and lost world from before the wars. well worth a read dispite the lenghty sentences and the vast descriptions that may put some off.
