Book description
Anne Garland, who lives with her widowed mother in a mill owned by
Miller Loveday, has three suitors: the local squire's nephew Festus and
the miller's two sons, Robert and John. While Festus' aggressive pursuit
deters the young woman from considering him as a husband, the indecisive
Anne wavers between light-hearted Bob and gentle, steadfast John. But as
their Wessex village prepares for possible invasion by Napoleon's fleet,
all find their destinies increasingly tangled with the events of
history. The Loveday brothers, one a sailor and one a soldier, must
wrestle with their commitments to their country and their feelings for
Anne. Lyrical and light-hearted, yet shot through with irony, The
Trumpet-Major (1880) is one of Hardy's most unusual novels and a
fascinating tale of love and desire. Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and
wrote both poetry and novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, The
Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbevilles and Jude the Obscure. He
died in 1928
