Return of the Native

Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy

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About Book

From AudioFile
Clym Yeobright, native of Egdon Heath, returns from the bright society of Paris and, as any reader of Hardy knows, all is not smooth. He is quickly taken by and marries the one woman he should not--Eustacia Vye. The suffering that follows is mitigated somewhat by the ending, but more by the mastery of Alan Rickman's reading. At the start, Rickman senses the voice for each character in Hardy's fictional world, and he maintains each character's personality throughout. He even manages to project Hardy's subtle shadings of tone with the rhythm and tempo of his narration, throwing in a song here and there because, in spite of his gloom, there is a festive strain to Hardy, as well. If you have a hard time reading this classic English writer, this is how to do it. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Financial Times, unknown date
"Rickman's austere yet humane narrator is right for this tragic story of passion and loss."

Talking Business, unknown date
"Alan Rickman's reading is outstanding. He has the perfectly paced delivery ... that brings the novel to life."

Sandy Bauers, Sacramento Bee, February 14, 1999
"...If velvet could speak, it would sound like Rickman."

USA TODAY, July 22, 1999
"Rickman passionately portrays the… characters. His mastery of local accents… creates a remarkable audio experience."

Library Journal, unknown date
"Rickman gives a performance that listeners will remember. This is the best way to enjoy Hardy."

The Listener
"A brilliant reading."

Financial Times
"Rickman's austere yet humane narrator is right for this tragic story of passion and loss."

Talking Business
"Alan Rickman's reading is outstanding. He has a plausible and adaptable West Country Burr, and he sings the local folk songs tunefully. But more than this, he has the perfectly paced delivery ... that brings the novel to life."

Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY, December 3, 1998
"These Cover to Cover tapes offer up a delectable feast for fans of the spoken word. We're talking class act here - from the elegant covers to the accomplished readers."

Review
"This is the quality Hardy shares with the great writers...this setting behind the small action the terrific action of unfathomed nature."
--D. H. Lawrence

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Book Description
'To be loved to madness - such was her great desire' Eustacia Vye criss-crosses the wild Egdon Heath, eager to experience life to the full in her quest for 'music, poetry, passion, war'. She marries Clym Yeobright, native of the heath, but his idealism frustrates her romantic ambitions and her discontent draws others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness. Early readers responded to Hardy's 'insatiably observant' descriptions of the heath, a setting that for D. H. Lawrence provided the 'real stuff of tragedy'. For modern readers, the tension between the mythic setting of the heath and the modernity of the characters challenges our freedom to shape the world as we wish; like Eustacia, we may not always be able to live our dreams. This edition has a critically established text based on the manuscript and first edition, and without the later changes that substantially altered Hardy's original intentions.

Download Description
One of Hardy's classic statements about modern love, courtship, and marriage, The Return of the Native is set in the pastoral village of Egdon Heath. The fiery Eustacia Vye, wishing only for passionate love, believes that her escape from Egdon lies in her marriage to Clym Yeobright, the returning "native, " home from Paris and discontented with his work there. Clym wishes to remain in Egdon, however -- a desire that sets him in opposition to his wife and brings them both to despair. Behind the narrative of The Return of the Native lie the tragic fates of Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Oedipus, and in writing the novel Hardy endowed his ordinary characters with the status of tragic heroes, seen especially in the ill-fated lovers and Damon Wildeve, who spoil their chances to master their own destinies.

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1878. The novel is set on Egdon Heath, a barren moor in the fictional Wessex in southwestern England. The native of the title is Clym Yeobright, who has returned to the area to become a schoolmaster after a successful but, in his opinion, shallow career as a jeweler in Paris. He and his cousin Thomasin exemplify the traditional way of life, while Thomasin's husband, Damon Wildeve, and Clym's wife, Eustacia Vye, long for the excitement of city life. Disappointed that Clym is content to remain on the heath, Eustacia, willful and passionate, rekindles her affair with the reckless Damon. After a series of coincidences Eustacia comes to believe that she is responsible for the death of Clym's mother. Convinced that fate has doomed her to cause others pain, Eustacia flees and is drowned (by accident or intent). Damon drowns trying to save her. In a later edition, to please his readers, Hardy made additions to his novel. Thomasin marries Diggory Venn, a humble, long-time suitor, and Clym becomes an itinerant preacher.

From the Publisher
Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.

Inside Flap Copy
This fine novel sets in opposition two of Thomas Hardy's most unforgettable creations: his heroine, the sensuous, free-spirited Eustacia Vye, and the solemn, majestic stretch of upland in Dorsetshire he called Egdon Heath. The famous opening reveals the haunting power of that dark, forbidding moon where proud Eustacia fervently awaits a clandestine meeting with her lover, Damon Wildeve. But Eustacia's dreams of escape are not to be realized--neither Wildeve nor the retuming native Clym Yeobright can bring her salvation. Injured by forces beyond their control, Hardy's characters struggle vainly in the net of destiny. In the end, only the face of the lonely heath remains untouched by fate in this masterpiece of tragic passion, a tale that perfectly epitomizes the author's own unique and melancholy genius.

From the Paperback edition.

About the Author
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is one of England's greatest novelists. Most of his work is set in his native Dorset, on the south coast of England. Simon Gatrell is a Professor of English, University of Georgia. Nancy Barrineau is an Associate Professor of English, University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Margaret Higonnet is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Connecticut.

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