Thomas Hardy's Christmas

Thomas Hardy's Christmas

Paperback (01 Nov 2023)

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Publisher's Synopsis

It was a tradition with the Hardy family, late on Christmas Eve, for the local singers and musicians gather together at the family home at Higher Bockhampton for a glass of cider and a warming by the log fire. Meanwhile, they prepared their music scores and candles, prior to setting out on foot to entertain the locals by serenading them with Christmas carols at their front doors. The musicians included Hardy's father Thomas (violin), and his grandfather Thomas (cello).


Hardy recreated this scene in his novel Under the Greenwood Tree (published in 1872), where 'Hardy' became 'Dewy', the cottage 'Lewgate', and the choir, the 'Mellstock Quire'.


Although Hardy had difficulty in embracing the Christian faith, he adored it's joyous traditions, reliving them vicariously in Under the Greenwood Tree, and so may we!


Book information

ISBN: 9781912587971
Publisher: New Haven Publishing Ltd
Imprint: New Haven Publishing Ltd
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 110
Weight: 176g
Height: 152mm
Width: 228mm
Spine width: 10mm