Palgrave Advances in Thomas Hardy Studies explores the key issues in the ongoing and lively debate about Thomas Hardy's work as a novelist and poet. In twelve specially-commissioned essays, distinguished scholars from both sides of the Atlantic address such topics as Hardy's treatment of class, his radical views of gender and society, his often subversive approach to notions of 'culture', his complex relationship with his readers and his impact on the poetry of the twentieth century.

'Most of the essays in this collection are driven by their authors' knowledge of Hardy and adorned by their unusually (for academicians) approachable prose styles. The intention of the collection, and of most of the essays, is to encourage readers and other sorts of students to develop their own perspectives and entry-points into the fiction and (to a lesser extent) the poetry. This intention is carried through to a strong degree. Undergraduate and graduate students, and professional readers will find many points of departure in this book. Obviously, given the book's intention and its achievement, readers who are drawn to Hardy will be stimulated to various thoughts, and some of them will be controversial. In short, this collection is worth the money to anyone who admires Hardy.' - Professor Dale Kramer, University of Oregon (and Editor of the Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy)

Chronology
Notes on Contributors
Introduction; P.Mallett
Hardy and the Critics; C.Lock
Hardy and His Readers; R.Nemesvari
Hardy and Biography; R.Pite
Editing Hardy; R.Morgan
Hardy and Class; R.Ebbatson
Hardy, Victorian Culture, and Provinciality; M.Rimmer
Hardy and Science; A.Richardson
Hardy and Sexuality; P.Mallett
Hardy and Englishness; J.Whitehead
Visual Inspiration in Hardy's Fiction; J.Hughes
Hardy and Nineteenth-Century Poetry and Poetics; L.M.Shires
Hardy's Aesthetic of Imperfection: Poetic and Social Connotations; J.P.Ward
Bibliography
Index

PHILLIP MALLETT is Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of St Andrews. His work on Hardy includes several collections of edited essays, including Thomas Hardy: Texts and Contexts (2002). His most recent book is Rudyard Kipling: A Literary Life (2003).