Manchester Lit & Phil Literary Book Club

Overview

Thomas Hardy is unquestionably one of our greatest writers. Though he was a poet principally, today he is more known for his novels: such masterpieces as Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure and The Mayor of Casterbridge. He’s celebrated for his vivid portrayals of rural life and tragic explorations of fate, class and rigid social norms – the latter of which both got him into trouble and marked him out as ahead of his times.

We’ll be discussing his 1878 novel The Return of the Native – no less of a masterpiece – which opens with a mesmerizingly mythic description of Egdon Heath, thereby setting up the tension with the modernity of the characters and challenging their freedom to shape the world as they wish.

Join us to discuss whether The Return of the Native continues to deserve its place in the hall of literary fame.

The Lit & Phil Literary Book Club is free and exclusively for members, operating on a first come first serve basis, up to a maximum of 15 people.

Save the date and start reading

September 29 book club: All My Sons, Arthur Miller (play).

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Lit & Phil Literary Book Club: Tuesday August 4

Book: The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy

Time: 6.15pm to 7.45pm

Location: Activity Room on the Lower Ground Floor, Manchester Central Library, St Peters Square, City Centre, M2 5PD