Thomas Hardy, Metaphysics and Music [Hardcover]

This fascinating new study by Mark Asquith offers an original approach to Hardy's art as a novelist and entirely new readings of certain musical scenes in Hardy's works. Asquith utilizes a rich seam of original archival research (both scientific and musicological), which will be of use to all Hardy scholars, and discusses a range of Hardy's major works in relation to musical metaphors - from early fiction The Poor Man and the Lady to later major works Jude the Obscure, Far From the Madding Crowd, the Mayor of Casterbridge .Introduction 'The Road to Norcombe Hill': Hardy's Musical Evolution 'Silent Workings of the Invisible Hand': Hardy's Metaphysical Evolution The 'Spider's Web': Metaphysics into 'Music Drama' 'The Plucked Harp String': Desire, Courtship Ritual and the Debate Concerning Speech Theory A Tale of 'Tragical Possibilities': Music and the Birth of Consciousness in The Return of the Native 'A Tragedy Appropriate for its Time': Music and the Story of a 'Man of Character' 'All Creation Groaning': A Deaf Ear to Music in Jude the Obscure Conclusion Bibliography Index

'One of the best books on Hardy published in recent years...I was struck by how coherent, well-illustrated and informative it is, opening up a world of musicological debate and making sense of it; relating it to the way that the nineteenth century thought about emotion, embodiment and their transmission; and of course applying it in numerous incisive ways to a range of Hardy's work, taking in issues including the Darwinian landscape, social life, courtship and the chorus...An impressive and elegant book.' - Tim Armstrong, Royal Holloway, UK

MARK ASQUITH is a teacher of English at Trinity School in London. He is the author of a number of articles on Hardy and Wagner.