Under the Greenwood Tree

Or, The Mellstock Quire

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Pages: 147

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Preface
6:38
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 1: Mellstock-Lane
8:07
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 2: The Tranter's
16:37
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 3: The Assembled Quire
15:44
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 4: Going the Rounds
15:12
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 5: The Listeners
12:31
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 6: Christmas Morning
16:12
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 7: The Tranter's Party
17:16
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 8: They Dance More Wildly
22:11
Part the First - Winter - Chapter 9: Dick Calls at the School
5:00
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 1: Passing by the School + Chapter 2: A Meeting of the Quire
13:29
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 3: A Turn in the Discussion
9:50
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 4: The Interview with the Vicar
23:20
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 5: Returning Home Ward
7:04
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 6: Yalbury Wood and the Keeper's House
23:12
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 7: Dick Makes Himself Useful
9:51
Part the Second - Spring - Chapter 8: Dick Meets His Father
14:51
Part the Third - Summer - Chapter 1: Driving out of Budmouth
10:36
Part the Third - Summer - Chapter 2: Further along the Road
13:26
Part the Third - Summer - Chapter 3: A Confession
12:29
Part the Third - Summer - Chapter 4: An Arrangement
6:42
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 1: Going Nutting
13:26
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 2: Honey-taking, And Afterwards
21:08
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 3: Fancy In The Rain
8:35
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 4: The Spell
9:54
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 5: After Gaining Her Point
9:39
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 6: Into Temptation
12:08
Part the Fourth - Autumn - Chapter 7: Second Thoughts
10:21
Part the Fifth - Conclusion - Chapter 1: 'The Knot There's No Untying'
26:21
Part the Fifth - Conclusion - Chapter 2: Under the Greenwood Tree
13:03

Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) is a public domain work.

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About this book

On a cold Christmas Eve, Dick Dewy walks towards Mellstock Cross singing, then meets villagers from the parish choir. Thomas Hardy begins his 1872 rural novel with trees, starlight and familiar voices, placing music within the everyday life of a working community. The seasonal divisions carry the story from winter through autumn, while the preface describes the customs of church bands whose players copied their own music after work.

Courtship adds another kind of tension to this village setting. At a meal with Fancy and her father Geoffrey, remarks about Fred Shiner leave Dick anxious and prompt Fancy to steer the conversation towards bread and cheese. Small gestures and indirect speech make the scene funny and uneasy at once. The book offers readers a close view of rural sociability, family expectations and musical traditions, with affection and embarrassment expressed through ordinary talk.

About the author

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet whose fiction, set in a half-imagined Wessex, probed fate, class, and the constraints of Victorian society. His major novels are cornerstones of English literature.