The Woodlanders

The Woodlanders, novel by Thomas Hardy, published serially in Macmillan’s Magazine from 1886 to 1887 and in book form in 1887. The work is a pessimistic attack on a society that values high status and socially sanctioned behaviour over good character and honest emotions.

The story begins as Grace Melbury, daughter of a timber merchant in a Dorset village, returns from finishing school and rejects her simple but understanding fiancé, the apple grower Giles Winterbourne. Grace accedes to the urgings of her father and marries Edred Fitzpiers, a young doctor of great charm but questionable moral character. Grace soon turns to Giles for comfort after Edred goes off with Mrs. Felice Charmond, a local upper-class woman. Giles, who is seriously ill, relinquishes his cottage to Grace and moves into a rude hut, where he soon dies of exposure. Although Grace mourns his loss, she eventually reconciles with Edred.