Introduction

The short story is often viewed as an inferior relation to the Novel. But it is an art in itself. To take a story and distil its essence into fewer pages while keeping character and plot rounded and driven is not an easy task. Many try and many fail. In this series we look at short stories from many of our most accomplished writers. Miniature masterpieces with a lot to say.

Focus on Thomas Hardy

In this volume we examine some of the short stories of Thomas Hardy. Many giants of Literature originate from the shores of these emerald isles; Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, The Brontës and Austen to which most people would willingly add the name Thomas Hardy. Far From The Madding Crowd, Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, The Mayor Of Casterbridge are but three of his literary masterpieces. But let us add to this his short stories. They are often overlooked as being the poor, under-developed relative of a greater work. But from writers of the calibre of Hardy this is just not so. He picks stories and creates characters that drive, meld and create pages that in their numerically shorter length are in fact the perfect length.

Additional Resources

Many of these stories are also available as an audiobook from our sister company Word Of Mouth. Many samples are at our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee. The full volume can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores. They are read for you by Richard Mitchley.