Thomas Hardy and History by Fred Reid

Thomas Hardy and History by Fred Reid

This book addresses the questions 'What did Thomas Hardy think about history and how did this enter into his writings?' Scholars have sought answers in 'revolutionary', 'gender', 'postcolonial' and 'millennial' criticism, but these are found to be unsatisfactory. Fred Reid is a historian who seeks answers by  setting Hardy more fully in the discourses of philosophical history and the domestic and international affairs of Britain. He shows how Hardy worked out, from the late 1850s, his own 'meliorist' philosophy of history and how it is inscribed in his fiction. Rooted in the idea of cyclical history as propounded by the Liberal Anglican historians, it was adapted after his loss of faith through reading the works of Auguste Comte, George Drysdale and John Stuart Mill and used to defend the right of individuals to break with the Victorian sexual code and make their own 'experiments in living'.

“In Thomas Hardy and History Fred Reid effectively takes on the role of historian of such repressed voices in relation to the historical and political valences of Hardy’s fiction… Thomas Hardy and History communicates a range of significant new and original insights which readers of his work will certainly wish to ponder.” (Karin Koehler, Hardy Society Journal, Vol. 13, 2017)

Fred Reid is Emeritus Reader in History at Warwick University, UK. His publications include James Keir Hardie: the Making of a Socialist and In Search of Willie Patterson: a Scottish Soldier in the Age of Imperialism. He has written on the rights of visually impaired people in European labour markets.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9783319853390
ISBN 10	3319853392
Title	Thomas Hardy and History
Author	Fred Reid
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Springer International Publishing AG
Year published	2018-05-13
Number of pages	238
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.