Under the Greenwood Tree

Under the Greenwood Tree, published anonymously in 1872 by Thomas Hardy, is a pastoral novel that follows the love story of Dick Dewy and the new school mistress, Fancy Day. The narrative also explores the conflict between traditional musicians of the Mellstock Quire and the local vicar, Parson Maybold, who introduces a church organ, symbolizing the technological changes of the Victorian era. Often regarded as Hardy's gentlest work, the novel reflects on rural life and the tensions between tradition and progress.