Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
The Return of the Native (1878) returns readers to the fictional Edgon Heath, a quiet village on the English countryside, where a taboo tale of thwarted desire pits societal norms against humanity’s natural appetites.
Through a cast of tragic characters, Hardy constructs a web of deceit and heartbreak in the quiet village of Edgon Heath, its denizens shackled by their conflicting desires for romance and status. Eustacia Vye takes center stage, her agency and flawed ideals propelling the plot along towards its deadly conclusion. To undercut these notably modern themes and characters, the novel also retains an air of classical tragedy. The more each character struggles against their fate, the more they are ensnared by the tendrils of time, place, and action. Those who wish to leave the quiet village to live a lavish life find themselves trapped, while those who wish only to live by their good works find a tumultuous world that refuses to accept them. It is a cautionary tale, a clear warning that when ephemeral societal norms trump humanity’s fundamental drive towards passion and love, only grief will follow.
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.
With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.
Preface
Book One—The Three Women
I. A Face on Which Time Makes but
Little Impression
II. Humanity Appears upon the Scene,
Hand in Hand with Trouble
III. The Custom of the Country
IV. The Halt on the Turnpike Road
V. Perplexity among Honest People
VI. The Figure against the Sky
VII. Queen of Night
VIII. Those Who Are Found Where There
Is Said to Be Nobody
IX. Love Leads a Shrewd Man into Strategy
X. A Desperate Attempt at Persuasion
XI. The Dishonesty of an Honest Woman
Book Two—The Arrival
I. Tidings of the Comer
II. The People at Blooms-End
Make Ready
III. How a Little Sound Produced
a Great Dream
IV. Eustacia Is Led on to an Adventure
V. Through the Moonlight
VI. The Two Stand Face to Face
VII. A Coalition between Beauty
and Oddness
VIII. Firmness Is Discovered in a
Gentle Heart
Book Three—The Fascination
I. “My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is”
II. The New Course Causes
Disappointment
III. The First Act in a Timeworn Drama
IV. An Hour of Bliss and Many Hours
of Sadness
V. Sharp Words Are Spoken, and a
Crisis Ensues
VI. Yeobright Goes, and the Breach
Is Complete
VII. The Morning and the Evening of a Day
VIII. A New Force Disturbs the Current
Book Four—The Closed Door
I. The Rencounter by the Pool
II. He Is Set upon by Adversities but
He Sings a Song
III. She Goes Out to Battle against
Depression
IV. Rough Coercion Is Employed
V. The Journey across the Heath
VI. A Conjuncture, and Its Result upon
the Pedestrian
VII. The Tragic Meeting of Two Old Friends
VIII.Eustacia Hears of Good Fortune, and
Beholds Evil
Book Five—The Discovery
I.“Wherefore Is Light Given to Him
That Is in Misery”
II.A Lurid Light Breaks in upon a
Darkened Understanding
III.Eustacia Dresses Herself on a Black
Morning
IV.The Ministrations of a
Half-forgotten One
V. An Old Move Inadvertently Repeated
VI.Thomasin Argues with Her Cousin,
and He Writes a Letter
VII. The Night of the Sixth of November
VIII. Rain, Darkness, and Anxious Wanderers
IX.Sights and Sounds Draw the
Wanderers Together
Book Six—Aftercourses
I. The Inevitable Movement Onward
II.Thomasin Walks in a Green Place
by the Roman Road
III.The Serious Discourse of Clym
with His Cousin
IV.Cheerfulness Again Asserts Itself
at Blooms-End, and Clym Finds
His Vocation