Wessex Tales
Encyclopedia
Wessex Tales is an 1888 collection of tales written by Thomas Hardy
, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840.
Through them, Thomas Hardy talks about nineteenth century marriage, grammar, class status, how men and women were viewed, medical diseases and more.
', 'The Withered Arm', 'Fellow-Townsmen', 'Interlopers at the Knap', and 'The Distracted Preacher') all published first in periodicals.
For the 1896 reprinting, Hardy added "An Imaginative Woman," but in 1912 moved this to another collection, Life's Little Ironies, while at the same time transferring two stories – "A Tradition of Eighteen Hundred and Four" and "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion" – from Life's Little Ironies to Wessex Tales.
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840.
Through them, Thomas Hardy talks about nineteenth century marriage, grammar, class status, how men and women were viewed, medical diseases and more.
Contents
In 1888, Wessex Tales contained only five stories ('The Three StrangersThe Three Strangers
-Plot Summary:A party of nineteen people is assembled in Higher Crowstairs, a shepherd's cottage near Casterbridge. A stranger joins them to seek shelter for the rough weather. A second stranger comes in, and sings a song that reveals he's a hangman. A third strangers enters briefly, but then...
', 'The Withered Arm', 'Fellow-Townsmen', 'Interlopers at the Knap', and 'The Distracted Preacher') all published first in periodicals.
For the 1896 reprinting, Hardy added "An Imaginative Woman," but in 1912 moved this to another collection, Life's Little Ironies, while at the same time transferring two stories – "A Tradition of Eighteen Hundred and Four" and "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion" – from Life's Little Ironies to Wessex Tales.
TV and Film Adaptations
Six of the short stories were adapted as television dramas by the BBC as the anthology series called Wessex Tales:- "The Withered Arm" (7 Nov 1973 BBC2), adapted by Rhys AdrianRhys AdrianRhys Adrian Griffiths was a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his radio plays, which are characterised by their emphasis upon dialogue rather than narrative.-Radio dramatist:...
, directed by Desmond DavisDesmond DavisDesmond Davis is a British film and television director.-Early career:After serving a long apprenticeship as a clapper boy in the 1940s, with Britain's Army Film Unit, Davis eventually worked his way up to focus puller and camera operator in low-budget British films of the 1950s...
and starring Billie WhitelawBillie WhitelawBillie Honor Whitelaw, CBE is an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and is regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works... - "Fellow-Townsmen" (14 Nov 1973 BBC2), adapted by Douglas Livingstone, directed by Barry Davis and starring Jane AsherJane AsherJane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
- "A Tragedy of Two Ambitions" (21 Nov 1973 BBC2), adapted by Dennis PotterDennis PotterDennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
, directed by Michael TuchnerMichael TuchnerMichael Tuchner is a British film and theatre director.He directed the BAFTA TV Award winning television play Bar Mitzvah Boy.-External links:...
and starring John HurtJohn HurtJohn Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York... - "An Imaginative Woman" (28 Nov 1973 BBC2), adapted by William TrevorWilliam TrevorWilliam Trevor, KBE is an Irish author and playwright. He is considered one of the elder statesman of the Irish literary world and widely regarded as the greatest contemporary writer of short stories in the English language....
, directed by Gavin MillarGavin MillarGavin Millar is a Scottish film director, critic and television presenter.Millar's early career was as a film critic, most notably for The Listener from 1970 to 1984. He also contributed to Sight and Sound and The London Review of Books. With the film director Karel Reisz, he co-authored The...
and starring Claire BloomClaire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales... - "The Melancholy Hussar" (5 Dec 1973 BBC2), adapted by Ken TaylorKenneth Taylor (scriptwriter)Kenneth Heywood Taylor FRSA was an Award-winning English screenwriter, credited as Ken Taylor.-Life:...
, directed by Mike NewellMike Newell (director)Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...
and starring Ben CrossBen CrossBen Cross is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:... - "Barbara of the House of Grebe" (12 Dec 1973 BBC2), adapted by David MercerDavid MercerDavid Mercer was an English dramatist.- Biography :Mercer was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. Like the central characters of his plays Where the Difference Begins and After Haggerty, he was the son of an engine-driver...
, directed by David Hugh Jones and starring Nick BrimbleNick BrimbleNick Brimble , is an English actor known for his performance as Little John in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and his appearances on various television shows....
and Ben KingsleyBen KingsleySir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...