This was my first Hardy thanks to a GR group read. If I knew nothing about Hardy, I'm not sure I'd read more of him, but I think this was an unusually light and upbeat novel given what I do know of him. Words that came to mind while reading this: quaint, pleasant, wholesome (a British Little House on the Prairie meets The Beverly Hillbillies). Normally, I'd potentially use such words pejoratively when discussing a book, but it might be better to say I found this: mildly amusing. Hardy slips in some rather comical exchanges and goes heavy on the female stereotypes.

Fancy Day lives up to her name and Dick does not.

But let's just treat this as the marriage/relationship advice book it is...

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HARDY'S TOP TIPS ON LOVE & THE FAIRER SEX

- Ladies, don't sing louder than the fellows in church (it's rude and disharmonious; also, they might start thinking of you as worse than a clarinet)

- "Everybody must be managed. Queens must be managed: kings must be managed; for men want managing almost as much as women, and that’s saying a good deal."

- " …wives be such a provoking class o’ society, because though they be never right, they be never more than half wrong."

- "Ay, good; she’s good enough. When you’ve made up your mind to marry, take the first respectable body that comes to hand—she’s as good as any other; they be all alike in the groundwork; ’tis only in the flourishes there’s a difference."
[Note: "Nice groundwork!" is not a catcall that has proven successful after rigorous testing, but much fatherly advice has yet to progress with the times...]

- "Now ... this is how a maid is. She’ll swear she’s dying for thee, and she is dying for thee, and she will die for thee; but she’ll fling a look over t’other shoulder at another young feller, though never leaving off dying for thee just the same."
[2024 update: Check your partner's phone frequently, especially their texts and social media.]

- Fashion advice/feedback between a couple is--and always has been--a minefield:
“What’s the objection to the hat? Does it make me look old?”
“O no; the hat is well enough; but it makes you look rather too—you won’t mind me saying it, dear?”
“Not at all, for I shall wear the bonnet.”
“—Rather too coquettish and flirty for an engaged young woman.”
She reflected a minute. “Yes; yes. Still, after all, the hat would do best; hats are best, you see. Yes, I must wear the hat, dear Dicky, because I ought to wear a hat, you know.”

Go forth and multiply!

It's been about thirty years since I last read Thomas Hardy, after I read the brilliant but unbearably tragic Jude The Obscure for A Level English. My mother's a huge Hardy fan, but had warned me that many of his novels were equally tragic, so I didn't venture back into his work until now.

Under The Greenwood Tree is a gentle romance, between two slightly flawed people. Dick Dewy's feelings and behaviour is recognisable to anyone that's ever been in love, feared that their love was unrequited or that they weren't good enough. He is a sympathetic character. Fancy Day is slightly less sympathetic; she's a bit too concerned with her appearance, and somewhat aware of the effect she has on men. She's also a little bit of a snob, and easily has her head turned by material things. However, she seems have some self awareness, and knows not to look a tranter's horse in the mouth. Although I wanted Dick and Fancy to get together, I had some misgivings, which I had right to the very end of the novel; if you read it, you'll see why.

I found the minute descriptions of life in rural Dorset 170 years ago quite fascinating; the close relationship of humans to nature, the turning of the seasons, the different occupations of the villagers, the dignity of the characters despite their humble existences. These are people who are grateful for simple things; health, family, enough to eat, and a barrel of decent cider!

My favourite sections of the novel were about the church choir, who are also musicians. It reminded me very much of the village brass band that I'm in; the politics, the camaraderie, and the Christmas Eve tradition of carolling through the village. The description of a rural Christmas Party in the 1850's was also wonderful.

I'm not sure that I would read this again; it's pleasant enough, but not really engaging enough for a second read. But the little hardback copy I've got is 89 years old, with pretty illustrations, so I'll keep it.

Lovely book, sweet and funny. I was surprised to find that Thomas Hardy could be both.

I love [a: Thomas Hardy|15905|Thomas Hardy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1429946281p2/15905.jpg]. This one, described as one of his "most gentle" novels, is exactly that. A sort of love triangle between a church musician (Dick Dewey), the new school mistress (Fancy Day), and the new curate (Reverend Maybold), oh, and an affluent farmer in the area, too.

Hardy's second novel, it's short and sweet and made me realize that I prefer my Hardy novels to be quite a bit more bleak and dreary to this.

Beautiful nature writing but the story is extremely unremarkable. Glad this wasn’t my first Hardy or I might not’ve understood the hype. Far From the Madding Crowd is still my favorite, but who knows what other Hardy’s may bring.

This novel, one of Thomas Hardy's earliest (second, I believe), has really so little to it that it might have been a novella. But it's incredibly charming as a painting of a more civilized (not necessarily more godly) time and place whose accouterments must be alien to every reader of today, probably even the English people of Wessex. I like it terribly, even as I admit the story often struggled to hold my attention. It's a feel-good novel. My reaction was mainly...envy.

The central story, a boy's courtship of a new young schoolteacher who has multiple suitors, is so simple in premise and in the nature of its two characters that even the reader who isn't jaded might laugh at it, or at them--especially the girl. It's difficult not to laugh at her emotionalism, Dick's insecurity, and the odd quickness with which she decides yes, she loves him. Until one realizes there's not the slightest tincture of satire, or parody, or amusement at the characters. Their story is earnest and so are they.

There is an incidental issue early in the book that couldn't escape my notice. One more aspect of his portrait of the rural life of Hardy's childhood, which quite disappears from view in the second half on the novel (as all attention focuses on the courtship), is the life of the village church. The new young vicar wants to replace the venerable string orchestra with an organ. The string players are pompous, self-satisfied old geezers who call their faith and practice "musical religion" (as opposed to Christianity); they sit there in the gallery with their instruments and lord it over the rest of the congregation, even complaining sanctimoniously if members of the congregation try to sing with the instruments--! (The vicar seemingly has no idea of their obnoxiousness. Why he's so set on replacing the orchestra with an organ is not very clear, unless it's just because one really must do what's fashionable.) Naturally, the men react badly to the vicar's plan; this is the subplot. And it is apparently the life of the church Hardy knew. Horrible.

I don't even remember why I became interested in reading Thomas Hardy, but I supposed I would start at or near the beginning; this was the earliest Hardy work I could find (I mistakenly thought it was the first, for a time). Even though I'm aware the rest of Hardy's oeuvre is notoriously unhappy, I had such a good experience reading Under the Greenwood Tree that I want to read more of Hardy even knowing I probably won't find this again. Except that I have the strong impression Far From the Madding Crowd (the other novel I considered starting Hardy at) is largely the same story as Under the Greenwood Tree.