The well-beloved

THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928)

The Well-Beloved

"To his Well-Beloved he had always been faithful ; but she had had many embodiments. Each individuality known as Lucy, Jane, Flora, Evangeline, or whatnot, had been merely a transient condition of her. He did not recognize this as an excuse or as a defence, but as a fact simply. Essentially she was perhaps of no tangible substance ; a spirit, a dream, a frenzy, a conception, an aroma, an epitomized sex, a light of the eye, a parting of the lips. God only knew what she really was ; Pierston did not. She was indescribable."

This remarkable novel, which explores the essence of inspiration and the nature of an obsession close to madness, was published in 1897, after Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure.

and
Alicia's Diary

A short and exquisite love story.