Two on a Tower: Difference between revisions
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
||
Upon release the book was called shocking, repulsive, and one critic called it Hardy's "worst yet"<ref>Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.</ref>. Hardy's biographer, Claire Tomalin, says Hardy was "writing for serialization, which drove him to pack in far too much plot, and that he wrote too fast, without time to think or reconsider.<ref>Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.</ref> It is possible that Hardy intended to produce some sort of shock value in the book's promotion by suggesting an advertisement pointing out the age difference between the lovers and the lady's "desperate ''coup d'audace'' involving a bishop". |
Upon release the book was called shocking, repulsive, and one critic called it Hardy's "worst yet"<ref>Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.</ref>. Hardy's biographer, Claire Tomalin, says Hardy was "writing for serialization, which drove him to pack in far too much plot, and that he wrote too fast, without time to think or reconsider.<ref>Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.</ref> It is possible that Hardy intended to produce some sort of shock value in the book's promotion by suggesting an advertisement pointing out the age difference between the lovers and the lady's "desperate ''coup d'audace'' involving a bishop". |
||
The book tends to be favourable among Hardy readers with one reader professing Hardy possessed "a gift of creating characters who are fascinating in their personalities and actions, and together with the environmental descriptions, reading his novels is just one step away from watching a really good movie." While also saying "it paints a vivid picture of the characters' environment, and their relationships to it, but this time with a twist."<ref>{{http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A15E1IKO1P74K7/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview</ref>" |
The book tends to be favourable among Hardy readers with one reader professing Hardy possessed "a gift of creating characters who are fascinating in their personalities and actions, and together with the environmental descriptions, reading his novels is just one step away from watching a really good movie." While also saying "it paints a vivid picture of the characters' environment, and their relationships to it, but this time with a twist."<ref>{{http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A15E1IKO1P74K7/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview</ref>" |
||
Revision as of 08:31, 22 August 2010
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
Publication date | 1882 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Two on a Tower (1882) is a novel by English author Thomas Hardy, classified by him as a romance and fantasy and now regarded as one of his minor works. The book is one of Hardy’s Wessex novels, set in a parallel version of late Victorian Dorset.
Plot
Two On A Tower is a tale of star-crossed love in which Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer who is ten years her junior. Her husband's death leaves the lovers free to marry, but the discovery of a legacy forces them apart. This is Hardy's most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide and the fullest expression of his fascination with science and astronomy.
Background
In the 1895 preface Hardy writes, "The scene of the action was suggested by two real spots in the part of the country specified, each of which has a column standing upon it. Certain surrounding peculiarities have been imported into the narrative from both sites." Wimborne was the location of the village of “Warborne”, and Charborough Housewas the location of the “Welland House” in Two on a Tower.[1]
Hardy's intention, in his own words, was to "set the emotional history of two infinitesimal lives against the stupendous background of the stellar universe".[2]
Criticism
Upon release the book was called shocking, repulsive, and one critic called it Hardy's "worst yet"[3]. Hardy's biographer, Claire Tomalin, says Hardy was "writing for serialization, which drove him to pack in far too much plot, and that he wrote too fast, without time to think or reconsider.[4] It is possible that Hardy intended to produce some sort of shock value in the book's promotion by suggesting an advertisement pointing out the age difference between the lovers and the lady's "desperate coup d'audace involving a bishop".
The book tends to be favourable among Hardy readers with one reader professing Hardy possessed "a gift of creating characters who are fascinating in their personalities and actions, and together with the environmental descriptions, reading his novels is just one step away from watching a really good movie." While also saying "it paints a vivid picture of the characters' environment, and their relationships to it, but this time with a twist."[5]"
See also
Notes
- ^ Letter from Hardy to Bertram Windle, transcribed by Birgit Plietzsch, from CL, vol 2, pp 131-133
- ^ [From Hardy's 1895 preface to the book]
- ^ Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.
- ^ Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.
- ^ {{http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A15E1IKO1P74K7/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
References
External links
 | This article about a 19th-century novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |