Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy
Posted by JudyB on October 22, 2007
Synopsis: Hardy described “Desperate Remedies” as a tale of ‘mystery, entanglement, surprise and moral obliquity’. Cytherea has taken a position as lady’s maid to the eccentric arch-intriguer Miss Aldclyffe. On discovering that the man she loves, Edward Springrove, is already engaged to his cousin, Cytherea comes under the influence of Miss Aldclyffe’s fascinating, manipulative steward Manston. Blackmail, murder and romance are among the ingredients of Hardy’s first published novel, and in it he draws blithely on the ’sensation novel’ perfected by Wilkie Collins. Several perceptive critics praised the author as a novelist with a future when Desperate Remedies appeared anonymously in 1871. In its depiction of country life and insight into psychology and sexuality, it already bears the unmistakable imprint of Hardy’s genius. (taken from Amazon website)
Review: This was Thomas Hardy’s first published novel and it seems that in an attempt to become established he chose the popular genre of sensation. Desperate Remedies has all the ingredients of such a novel – identity fraud, murder, detection, and atmosphere – but felt more like a Wilkie Collins novel than a Hardy. The writing seemed detached and it lacked the poetry and description that made Far From the Madding Crowd such a memorable, absorbing and beautiful novel. However, what Desperate Remedies lacked in Hardy’s usual writing quality it contained in plot and I found it an enjoyable and compulsive read and with the pace picking up during the last 100 pages it left me guessing right to the end. A recommended read.
LibraryThing rating: *****
Other books read by same author: Far From the Madding Crowd *****, Jude The Obscure *****
Reviewed by JudyB
