As a fan of both Hardy and woodlands, I was rather disappointed by this novel. It wasn’t quite as straightforward as poor simple country folk good, rich sophisticated town folk bad, but it wasn’t far off. Whilst the plot never felt like it was trudging along, it eschewed the vicissitudes of high drama. The lack of great action undermined investment in the characters such that the peaks and troughs that existed failed to have significant impact. This apathy is perhaps also a product of a “which man to choose” story in which neither man is truly right for the heroine (nor is either truly awful). 

The writing is of course very good, but it is the plot that carries a story. One cannot help but feel that Hardy would have done more justice to the humble woodlanders by telling the tragic story of Marty South instead - a story he appears to want to tell.