The Return of Native

The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy 's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Due to the novel 's controversial themes, Hardy had some difficulty finding a publisher; reviews, however, though somewhat mixed, were generally positive. In the twentieth century, The Return of the Native became one of Hardy 's most popular novels.[1]

|Contents |
|[hide] |
|1 Plot summary |
|2 Discussion |
|3 Character list |
|4 Adaptations |
|5 In popular culture |
|6 References |
|7 External links |

[pic][edit] Plot summary

The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses, covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn drives slowly across the heath, carrying a hidden passenger in the back of his van. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasizing - not for the last time - the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens.
Venn is a reddleman; he travels the country marking flocks of sheep with a red mineral called 'reddle ', a dialect term for red ochre. Although his trade has stained him red from head to foot, underneath his devilish colouring he is a handsome, shrewd, well-meaning young man. His passenger is a young woman named Thomasin Yeobright, whom Venn is taking home. Earlier that day, Thomasin had planned to marry Damon Wildeve, a local innkeeper known for his fickleness; however, a minor technical difficulty delayed the marriage and Thomasin, in distress, ran after the reddleman 's van and asked him to take her

References: [pic] "Unconscious of her presence, he still went on singing." Eustacia watches Clym cut furze in this illustration by Arthur Hopkins for the original Belgravia edition (Plate 8, July 1878).