Under the Greenwood Tree, or the Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School (Penguin Classics)

247 pp. The happiest of all Hardy's works, Under the Greenwood Tree inaugurated the great series of Wessex novels. The Mellstock rustics--among whom the romance of Dick Dewey is played out--provide some of Hardy's most memorable characters: from Leaf the simpleton to gamekeeper Day with his eloquent silences, to the singular Mrs. Day--'She'd belong to that class of womankind that become second wives; a rum class rather.' The evocative power of this minor masterpiece derives from its being a vivid and authentic recreation of Hardy's own childhood environment. He modelled the villagers on people he had known intimately and their talk, full of observation and humour, is a constant delight.