Well-beloved (Everyman's Library)

Set partly in London but mostly in Portland, Hardy's 'Isle of Slingers', 'The well-beloved' follows the search by Jocelyn Pierston, a sculptor, for his ideal in womanhood - a search which leads to his courtship of a Portland woman, her daughter, and her granddaughter, among others. Hardy's skill at depicting a landscape, at describing the activities of the local people, and at evoking the spirit of the past combine to memorable effect. First appearing in serial form in 1892, in its much revised form this was the last of Hardy's novels to be published, giving it a special significance now being explored by scholars after a long period of neglect.