Under the Greenwood Tree
by Thomas Hardy
'Under the Greenwood Tree' Summary
The novel follows the activities of a group of west gallery musicians, the Mellstock parish choir, one of whom, Dick Dewy, becomes romantically entangled with a comely new village schoolmistress, Fancy Day.
The novel opens with the fiddlers and singers of the choir — including Dick, his father Reuben Dewy, and grandfather William Dewy — making the rounds in Mellstock village on Christmas Eve. When the little band plays at the schoolhouse, young Dick falls for Fancy at first sight. Dick, smitten, seeks to insinuate himself into her life and affections, but Fancy's beauty has gained her other suitors including Shiner, a rich farmer, and Mr Maybold, the new vicar at the parish church.
Maybold informs the choir that he intends Fancy, an accomplished organist, to replace their traditional gallery singing and string accompaniment to Sunday services. Reuben Dewy and the rest of the band visit the rectory to negotiate, but reluctantly give way to the vicar's wishes.
Dick seems to win Fancy's heart, and the two become secretly engaged. When he is told, Fancy's father is initially opposed, but changes his mind when as a consequence Fancy stops eating and her health deteriorates. Some months later, after Fancy's first Sunday service as organist, Maybold unexpectedly proposes marriage, and promises Fancy a life of relative affluence; racked by guilt and temptation, she accepts. The next day, however, at a chance meeting with Dick, Maybold learns that Fancy is in fact already spoken for. Maybold writes her a letter, admonishing her to be honest with Dick and to withdraw her commitment to him if she indeed meant what she said in accepting Maybold. Fancy, on reconsideration, withdraws her consent to marry Maybold, and asks him to keep her initial acceptance forever a secret. Maybold again urges her to be honest with Dick about the episode.
The final chapter is a joyful and humorous portrait of Reuben, William, and the rest of the Mellstock rustics as they celebrate Dick and Fancy's wedding day. The novel concludes after the ceremony with Dick telling Fancy that their happiness must be due to there being such full confidence between them. He says that they will have no secrets from each other, "no secrets at all". Fancy replies “None from to-day” and, changing the subject, thinks "of a secret she would never tell".
Book Details
Author
Thomas Hardy
England
Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, he gained fame as the author of novels such as Far from t...
More on Thomas HardyDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
Scaramouche is a historical novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1921. A romantic adventure, Scaramouche tells the story of a young lawye...
The Devil’s Pool by George Sand
George Sand (the pen name of Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin 1804-1876) is famous for flaunting the conventions of behavior expected of women of her stan...
The Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by George MacDonald
This delightful story begins in a little town called Marshmallows, where a young man, the new vicar, Harry Walton, has just arrived. As he begins his...
True Love: A Story of English Domestic Life by Sarah Farro
Dive into the intricate tapestry of love, family, and societal expectations in "True Love: A Story of English Domestic Life" by Sarah Farro, where sec...
The Touchstone by Edith Wharton
The Touchstone is a novella by American writer Edith Wharton. Written in 1900, it was the first of her many stories describing life in old New York....
The Farmer's Boy by Clifton Johnson
A year in the life of a New England farm boy at the end of the 19th century (Introduction by LC).
The Rosary by Florence Louisa Barclay
The Rosary is a novel by Florence L. Barclay. It was first published in 1909 by G.P. Putnam's Sons and was a bestselling novel for many years running,...
Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
Women in Love (1920) is a novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow (1915), and follows the continuing l...
Miss or Mrs.? by Wilkie Collins
Natalie Graybrooke is in love with her cousin Launcelot Linzie, but engaged to Mr. Turlington, an older man who covets her fortune and whom she detest...
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Kenilworth. A Romance is a historical romance novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels, first published on 13 January 1821. Set in 1575,...
Reviews for Under the Greenwood Tree
No reviews posted or approved, yet...