In the Land of Forests

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) - an English writer, characterized by a definition that expresses the main calling of literature: to depict the natural and spiritual essence of man. The multifaceted manifestations of this human essence in the books of Thomas Hardy... are such that some perceive his works as "masterpieces of romantic fiction," while others see them as pamphlets against social inequality. It is known that an Anglican bishop organized a public burning of one of his books for violating the moral creed of society, while Maxim Gorky placed Hardy alongside Balzac, Zola, and Maupassant... The novel takes the reader deep into rural England. The village of Little Hintock - the setting of the novel - is so small that it is difficult to find even in the depths of the forest, yet it is here that the tragedies of "truly Sophoclean greatness" unfold. The cause of these tragedies is the clash of natural human characters preserved in the pristine wilderness of rural England.