Reviewing Every Thomas Hardy Novel

In this video I review every novel Thomas Hardy wrote, except for The Poor Man and The Lady which is lost and unpublished.
Misery May is coming fast, don't know what it is, check out the announcement videos from Gemma and myself:
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Books Mentioned:
Desperate Remedies
Far from the Madding Crowd
The Hand of Ethelberta
Jude the Obscure
A Laodicean
The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character
A Pair of Blue Eyes
The Return of the Native
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented
The Trumpet-Major
Two on a Tower
Under the Greenwood Tree
The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament
The Woodlanders
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[@OliviasCatastrophe]

I appreciated the level of fanboy in this video 🎉🎉🎉

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

😁 so much fanboying going on.

[@jenniferlovesbooks]

I am really looking forward to diving into more Hardy! Desperate Remedies sounds like my kind of book.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Yes, Desperate Remedies is totally your book! Good luck with old Hardy. 🙂

[@janethansen9612]

It will make you want to vomit is such a strong recommendation for a book. I actually have The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd, but I don't really remember them as I probably read them decades ago.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

The ending of two in a tower is so bad it moves past bad and back into good.

[@lindysmagpiereads]

Listening to you tell me about Hardy’s novels while knitting… I couldn’t clutch my pearls because my hands were busy… also didn’t write down the title of one that most caught my interest. You said it was his most feminist and talked about it just before the Mayor of C. So far, I’ve only read Under the GreenwoodTree - an enjoyable group read on Voxer in 2018. I remember the setting more than anything else, so I’m glad you reminded me that there are characters named Dick and Fancy. 😅

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

The Return of the Native is the title you are looking for. I wouldn't be clutching my pearls while knitting, that seems like a nasty injury waiting to happen with those big knitting needles.

[@lindysmagpiereads]

@@GunpowderFictionPlot Ta

[@sharon152]

Brilliant video. Just subscribed. I love Hardy and just today finished the return of the native and last month, i re read Tess. I haven't read Jude yet. That will be my next Hardy read. On the point of alex durbeville and Angel clare, i was actually more disappointed in Angel. He supposedly loved Tess, but he betrayed her cruelly.

[@eyesonindie]

Incredible video! Such a valuable resource for Misery May! 😊

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you. 🙂♥️

[@EntertheBook]

Thanks for all the review breakdown as I have read the tops but not all 14 yet so this is helpful to know order and I likely will be a completist eventually. Hardy is truly miserable in such a fun way.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

I think it's best saving some of his completionist novels until last, when you already love his work and just want more. Agree, fun misery.

[@myrarucker7953]

Awesome video!! Totally enjoyed!! I love Thomas Hardy!! 😊 thanks for making this!!

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you. 🙂

[@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711]

Wonderful wonderful video. And I have to agree with your top spot. I weep for Tess but get moments of frustration with Jude. I need to reread Far From The Madding Crowd as I last read it more than forty years ago.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Ooh, yes, time for a re-read of Far From The Madding Crowd. I think you're spot on, Jude could have done thing differently, maybe it's not entirely reasonable, Tess, there's really only 1 thing Tess could have done differently and I was so happy that she did it. Reading that for the first time and that scene was when I realised I loved Hardy.

[@TheDiscoKingOfficial]

Top quality video, boss! ❤❤

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thanks mate.

[@sabinelipinska8614]

Very informative and inspiring! Thank you for your video!

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you. 🙂♥️

[@goodstrongwords]

You put into words my feelings towards Two on a Tower in a way I have never been able to do 😂. Enjoyed hearing your thoughts!

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you - yeah, it's such a weird book, but I remember thinking towards the end, this could be a 5 star read if it finishes strongly and then it ends like that and well. I'm very glad I loved Hardy by the time I got there.

[@paulaallison9239]

Absolutely brilliant. What a video! I have read all of Hardy over the years, some books many times. I have spent time in Dorset and know the background. I have never come across such an excellent review of the whole lot. And then you chose Tess! Tess is by far the best Hardy novel, always the one I would choose . . . Thank you for this.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you so much. 🙂 I would love to travel around Dorset and the surrounding area and see the places that inspired him and where he lived and so on. How lucky you got to do that.

[@KaylaIsSick]

Absolutely fantastic video. Just finished Two on a Tower and I couldn’t agree with you more 😂😂-absolutely loved it.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you... And yes, I felt so trolled by the ending of Two on a Tower.

[@GemofBooks]

This was so good!! I really need to get through more Hardy, you are putting me to shame!

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you and yes! You probably need to just do a book a month once you finish your Pirot thing or have the space in your over the top TBRs.

[@astarreads4214]

Hahaha This is AMAZING! I’ve only read Tess of the d’Urbervilles so far, so I’m ready to find out the Hardy-est of Hardy’s books and put it on my list!

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you. 🙂 You've started with an excellent novel, but there's plenty of fantastic novels to pick from.

[@astarreads4214]

@@GunpowderFictionPlot Oh, well you had me at "Victorian trash", definitely adding Desperate Remedies to my TBR list. And of course, all the other top five. Thank you for these reviews.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Desperate Remedies is such a fun novel, I hope you enjoy it.

[@LanaCelebic]

Love this video! So far I've read Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess being my favourite. Even though I haven't read many of Hardy's novels, I think it's pretty safe to say that he is the author for me. Looking forward to Misery May. It's time for me to read Jude the Obscure!🙂

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you, and what a great book to read next. If you want to join a voxer group and share your thoughts on Jude as we read it in April, just shoot me a message on voxer. 😁

[@glendaw5221]

I loved this video. I’ve only read one Hardy novel (Mayor) but I plan to read Jude for Misery May. I’m only participating because I love Gemma (and now you). I’m really not fond of miserable books in general. Future authors: maybe Shakespeare? Or maybe Atwood?

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Shakespeare and Atwood are interesting calls for me, because I've read a considerable amount of their work without having read them all. Thank you. 🙂 I hope you get on with Jude next month. Will you be joining the Voxer group?

[@glendaw5221]

@@GunpowderFictionPlot yep

[@Ihearbooks]

Thanks so much for this review of Hardy. So much I haven't read and , sigh, did not even know about. Now I am miserable. I have much reading to do. I did love Tess and have read it two or three times and saw the movie two or three times.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Don't be miserable, so much exciting new Hardy to enjoy! 🙂 Okay, it's Hardy, you can be miserable.

[@stalkingkafka]

Wow - this is my window into a whole world I knew nothing about. I love hearing how passionate you are about Hardy. Thank you for doing this Scott! That said, is it bad that one of my take-aways from this video is: I need to read Wilkie Collins 😜 Also, which Hardy short stories do you recommend?

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Haha, you are not the only person mentioning Wilkie Collins in the comments. My favourite Hardy short story is The Romantic Adventures of a Millionaire, more of a novella, but I did find it interesting as a precursor to Tess.

[@katiejlumsden]

This is entirely excellent ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Thank you so much. :)

[@charlottemolloy]

A funny intelligent video purely on Hardy novels?! Have I died and gone to booktube heaven?! 😂 Also, my favourites are also tess & bathsheba. I haven't read jude before but will be joining in May! Has the voxxer group started yet?

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Haha, you're too kind. Tess and Bathsheba are fantastic, I love Tess for that scene that you cannot talk about in reviews because spoilers. The Voxer group has started! No messages yet, just collecting people, so you've not missed anything - but send me a message on voxer or just let me know your user name and I'll add you. 🙂

[@johnscone9382]

Hardy was up there with Dickens in his books, I wonder what price you would get for his original manuscript of The poor man and the Lady, very sought after.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

I think you'd get over 100k, a lost Hardy novel would sell well surely, not to mention the collectors appeal.

[@johnscone9382]

@@GunpowderFictionPlot Fascinating to know, Gunpowder, I would love a long, lost work of Hardy’s to turn up somewhere where it had no business been, it would be wonderful, especially when put into print for the public.

[@BandysBooks]

I don’t know if I feel more or less inspired to read Hardy now. 😅 Maybe I’ll re-try Jude for Misery May. Or I’ll just avoid the whole thing and read contemporary miserable books as I typically do. 😅

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

He's such a specific flavour, it's okay if you don't enjoy him... But it would be a surprise to me, as you like all the modern day miserable books as you said.

[@CestKevvie]

This was so fun!! Which Hardy do you think I would like the best?

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Tess! You will like Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It is possible you will like other Hardy novels more, but Tess is satisfying in a way I think you'll love, it's the safest Kevvie choice.

[@johnscone9382]

@@GunpowderFictionPlot I agree, The Trumpet Major is also a gem.

[@TheLeniverse]

I really want to read Hardy because he has the BEST titles. But I don't want to read him because my misery enjoyment is a bit low. I've read Far From the Madding Crowd which was very manageable on the misery axis, and had fab prose, (and the excellent Batsheba) but I've been scared to attempt Tess or Jude. Like Hardy I am a Wilkie Collins fan, so maybe I should try Desperate Remedies? (Then again, I have lots of Wilkie still to read, and his Maidenly Maidens tend to be at least 8/10, so maybe I should let Wilkie be Wilkie and Hardy be Hardy.)

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

There are definitely Hardy books that aren't as miserable as Far From The Madding Crowd... But yeah his big novels are all pretty full on, especially Tess and Jude. Under the Greenwood tree is happy and sad at the same time. Desperate Remedies is such fun - I think there's merit in what you say about keep Hardy Hardy and Wilkie Collins Wilkie Collins.... But also if you see a cheap copy and the mood takes you, you won't regret it. 🙂

[@BookishTexan]

Thanks for feeding my ego mania. You forgot “mind numbing” Gissing and Hardy were friends…. Why does that seem so right? Return of the Native sounds more like an episode of Love Island than I remember. Just reconfirmed why Far From the Madding Crowd is my only favorite Hardy novel. Hemingway and Fitzgerald are my twenties.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

I agree Gissing and Hardy just seems right. I think a lot of Hardy novels are basically Love Island in Victorian England with some extra bits. That's fair.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Also your ego is welcome... Your dislike for Hardy is a little funny.

[@kitthereader]

1) Poor Brian 2) Please can you spoil The Well-Beloved for me? 3) I now have a theory that Thomas Hardy was a woman.

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

I know, imagine not loving Hardy. The Well-Beloved is about a man was over 40-50 years is in relationship with 3 women, mother, daughter and granddaughter. It's meant to be critical of the excessive age gap and the idea that women are only desirable if they're young. Hahaha, but yes, I completely get what you're saying. His writing has more in common with the Brontes than Dickens. I always compare Hardy to Eliot, who I also love, but it's as much about writing style as anything else.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Don’t be a Brian 😂

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

Don't be a Brian. 😁