Under the Greenwood Tree Author:Thomas Hardy The happiest of all Hardy's works, Under the Greenwood Tree inaugurated the great series of Wessex novels. — The Mellstock rustics -- among whom the romance of Dick Dewy is played out -- provide some of Hardy's most memorable characters: from Leaf the simpleton to gamekeeper Day with his eloquent silences, to the singular Mrs. Day -- "She'd belon... more »g to that class of womankind that become second wives; a rum class rather."
The evocative power of this minor masterpiece derives from its being a vivid and authentic re-creation of Hardy's own childhood environment. He modelled the villagers on people he had known intimately and their talk, full of observation and humour, is a constant delight.« less