The Fiddler of the Reels and Other Stories: 1888-1900 (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas Hardy (Author), Keith Wilson (Editor), Kristin Brady (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003 | Series: Penguin Classics

In the title story, Car'line Aspent, bewitched and seduced by the dazzling fiddler Mop Ollamoor, rejects her loyal suitor Ned only to repent her decision and seek him out years later. The ten other stories share the theme of love, but they are more than simple love stories. Written with Hardy's customary compassion for ordinary women and his sharp sense of irony, they tell of romantic disasters, betrayals, misunderstandings, and cruelties. The stories in this collection were written between 1888 and 1900, when Hardy was also writing his greatest and most important novels.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was the son of a village stonemason and trained as an architect. He wrote numerous novels but devoted the last decades of his life to writing poetry. Keith Wilson is professor and former chair of English at the University of Ottawa and Honorary Vice President of the Thomas Hardy Association. Kristin Brady taught English at the University of Western Ontario. She edited The Withered Arm and Other Stories for Penguin Classics.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140439005
• ISBN-13: 978-0140439007
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,662,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Tales: The Three Strangers, The Distracted Preacher, and The Fiddler of the Reels, July 25, 2007

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fiddler of the Reels and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Today Thomas Hardy is known almost exclusively for his outstanding novels and his poetry, and yet he authored some of the finest short stories in the English language. Nearly all of his fifty-three short stories were written between 1880 and 1900, and were popular with many Victorian readers. His stories typically have a narrative structure, often with some historical basis. Many are presented as reminiscences.

The three stories in this little Dover reprint edition (0-486-29960-0) are The Three Strangers (1883), The Distracted Preacher (1879), and The Fiddler of the Reels (1893).

The Three Strangers is a humorous, and yet suspenseful tale. Nineteen guests are gathered together on a dark rainy night in the isolated, rustic home of Shepherd and Shepherdess Fennel to celebrate the christening of their second daughter. Within an hour or so three strangers individually arrive, seeking temporary shelter from the storm. Hardy gradually reveals an unexpected connection between these three strangers.

The Distracted Preacher is an adventuresome tale, apparently with an authentic historical basis. Mr. Stockdale, a young, inexperienced Wesleyan preacher, is assigned temporarily to the small village of Nether-Moynton. He quickly becomes enamored with his young, vibrant landlady, only to subsequently discover that she and her neighbors are engaged in smuggling liquor from France. Mr. Stockdale faces a moral dilemma. The ending is a bit too moralistic, and years later Thomas Hardy revealed that his publisher had forced him to change his original ending. Hardy's preferred ending is included for comparison.

The Fiddler of the Reels is a tale of a fiddler with a fantastical, magical capability to overpower children and occasionally young women with his music. Apparently, this tale is among the best-known short stories of Thomas Hardy and can be found in many anthologies.