The Hand of Ethelberta

Great book

Little read I think largely because it destabilises the notion of Hardy as a novelist of rural England, Ethelberta is an absolutely delicious city satire. Savagely ironic in places, quite post-modern in its instabilities, it tells the story of the rise and rise of a butler's daughter to the position of wife of a Lord. It was not written by the Hardy I had constructed for me by educators. For a start the book has what I would argue is a happy ending (the last of them according to D.H.Lawrence). It really is FUN, as nineteenth century novels go. Peter Widdowson used it to argue that our current construction of Hardy is just that - a construction. If I was game I'd teach it to my classes. Alas the novel may be an acquired taste - something to clear away the aftertaste of Jude, perhaps. No matter, I loved it when I read it (both times). And hey, you're welcome to my essay celebrating Ethelberta, too.

Posted By Raoul at Sat 21 Feb 2004, 12:00 AM in The Hand of Ethelberta || 2 Replies