Book description
The daughter of a wealthy railway magnate, Paula Power inherits De
Stancy Castle, an ancient castle in need of modernization. She
commissions George Somerset, a young architect, to undertake the work.
Somerset falls in love with Paula but she, the Laodicean of the title,
is torn between his admiration and that of Captain De Stancy, whose
old-world romanticism contrasts with Somerset's forward-looking
attitude.
Paula's vacillation, however, is not only romantic. Her ambiguity
regarding religion, politics and social progress is a reflection of
the author's own. This new Penguin Classics edition of Hardy's text
contains an introduction and notes that illuminate and clarify these
themes, and draws parallels between the text and the author's life and views.
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) English poet and regional novelist, whose
works depict the imaginary county "Wessex" (=Dorset).
