was completed over a short period in the face of some personal difficulties for Hardy, not least his recent serious illness. It was published in the American magazine the

(1882) in serial form, and appeared in one volume late the same year. The work continues to be considered one of Hardy’s minor novels, which mostly make up the category he designated “Romances and Fantasies”. A study of the love between a young man and an older woman,

, however, could just as easily be placed alongside – in terms of thematic content, if not scope – the major novels that make up Hardy’s “Novels of Character and Environment”. It is also difficult to disagree with Pamela Gossin that

is “probably Hardy’s least known and least…

2918 words

Citation: White, Adam. "Two on a Tower". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 September 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8500, accessed 27 November 2024.]