The Return of the Native

Backgrounds and Contexts provides a useful "Glossary of Dialect Words" as well as four essays on the textual and publication history of the novel--including pieces by Simon Gatrell and Andrew Nash--all of which are newly included. Also included are six of Hardy's nonfiction writings on the dialect in the novel, the reading of fiction, and his correspondence, five of which are new to this edition.Criticism provides a selection of contemporary reviews that suggest The Return of the Native's initial reception as well nine of the most influential modern essays on the novel, by Gillian Beer, D. H. Lawrence, Michael Wheeler, Rosemarie Morgan, Donald Davidson, John Peterson, Richard Swigg, Pamela Dalziel, and Jennifer Gribble.A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.