The Hand of Ethelberta - A Comedy In Chapters
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"The Hand of Ethelberta is ... a portrait of two artists - Ethelberta Petherwin and Thomas Hardy ..."
--Tim Dolin
--Tim Dolin
Product Description
Adventuress and opportunist, Ethelberta reinvents herself to disguise her humble origins, launching a brilliant career as a society poet in London with her family acting incognito as her servants. Turning the male-dominated literary world to her advantage, she happily exploits the attentions of four very different suitors. Will she bestow her hand upon the richest of them, or on the man she loves? Ethelberta Petherwin, alias Berta Chickerel, moves with easy grace between her multiple identities, cleverly managing a tissue of lies to aid her meteoric rise. In The Hand of Ethelberta (1876), Hardy drew on conventions of popular romances, illustrated weeklies, plays, fashion plates and even his wife's diary in this comic story of a woman in control of her destiny.
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First Sentence
Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old though popular inn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old though popular inn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel of Hardy's. Ethelberta is socially ambitious and moves in higher circles than the class position into which she is born. The novel is pleasurable and easy to read with a good tension throughout which made me feel like I wanted to know who Ethelberta chooses for a husband.
The character delineation is interesting enough although I felt that Hardy did not adequately present Ethelberta's relationship with Julian (the man she loves). Hardy doesn't delineate the love story between these two sufficiently which doesn't create any emotion within the reader when Ethelberta begins to consider more financially beneficial suitors. However, it is a comedy and the light hearted theme remains throughout the novel.
All in all this is a good bedtime read, easy enough but still intelligent enough to keep you interested. Keep your eye on Lord Mountclere, I think he is great!
The character delineation is interesting enough although I felt that Hardy did not adequately present Ethelberta's relationship with Julian (the man she loves). Hardy doesn't delineate the love story between these two sufficiently which doesn't create any emotion within the reader when Ethelberta begins to consider more financially beneficial suitors. However, it is a comedy and the light hearted theme remains throughout the novel.
All in all this is a good bedtime read, easy enough but still intelligent enough to keep you interested. Keep your eye on Lord Mountclere, I think he is great!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel about the social climbing daughter of a butler is quite unlike any other novel by Thomas Hardy that I have read - and I've read most of them.
For a start, the subtitle is "A Comedy in Chapters". Although I accept that there is humour in some of Hardy's works, "comedy" is not the first word that springs to mind when you think of Thomas Hardy.
Then, after opening chapters set in Hardy's beloved Wessex, the central part of the book is set in London. Although Hardy worked in London for a while, it is clear that he had little love for the place and the descriptions of locations are perfunctory. It is when the action returns to Wessex that for me it really came to life. There is an exciting description of a ship caught in a storm off Knollsea (Swanage) and an amusing account of a visit to Corvsgate (Corfe) Castle. I found myself really caring about which of the four suitors Ethelbertha would end up with and there are a couple of twists before the end.
If it has been possible to award 3 1/2 stars I would have done so. I quite liked the novel but I didn't love it in the way that I love "Far From the Madding Crowd" or "The Return of the Native" and I certainly didn't feel the catharsis that I did when I read "Jude The Obscure".
For a start, the subtitle is "A Comedy in Chapters". Although I accept that there is humour in some of Hardy's works, "comedy" is not the first word that springs to mind when you think of Thomas Hardy.
Then, after opening chapters set in Hardy's beloved Wessex, the central part of the book is set in London. Although Hardy worked in London for a while, it is clear that he had little love for the place and the descriptions of locations are perfunctory. It is when the action returns to Wessex that for me it really came to life. There is an exciting description of a ship caught in a storm off Knollsea (Swanage) and an amusing account of a visit to Corvsgate (Corfe) Castle. I found myself really caring about which of the four suitors Ethelbertha would end up with and there are a couple of twists before the end.
If it has been possible to award 3 1/2 stars I would have done so. I quite liked the novel but I didn't love it in the way that I love "Far From the Madding Crowd" or "The Return of the Native" and I certainly didn't feel the catharsis that I did when I read "Jude The Obscure".
Format:Unknown Binding
I collect the McMillan Pocket editions of the Wessex Novels by Thomas Hardy printed in the early 1920s. They tend to turn up at Second Hand Bookshops and can be in various conditions from good to pretty poor. I received my copy of this publication within three days of ordering it and found it to be in excellent condition. The book itself is an excellent read for a Hardy fan. Jim Gibson - Preston Lancs UK
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