Book excerpt: "Hardy was a landscape novelist, who painted enduring pictures of a real outdoor world that formed the stage upon which his characters lived out their tragic lives. Incorporating extracts from Hardy's poems and novels such as Return of the Native, Far From the Madding Crowd and Under the Greenwood Tree, this book consists of a series of walks through Hardy's landscapes. It allows the reader to appreciate not only the beauty and wonder of the natural world but also the unique contribution that Thomas Hardy has made to our ability to interpret that world. Hardy's landscapes are at once specific and general; based on real places and scenes, but purposefully distanced and disguised. The author argues that Hardy's Wessex is actually a very narrow territory and in doing so he calls into question a number of accepted identifications of Wessex locations and proposes new ones. Follow in the footsteps of Jude, Tess and Clym and live and breathe the very essence of Thomas Hardy's world."--Publisher's description.