Passionate Eustacia Vye detests her life amid the dreary environs of Egdon Heath and spies her escape when Clym Yeobright returns from Paris. Hardy's timeless tale of a romantic misalliance embodies his view of character as fate and underscores the tragic nature of ordinary human lives. Shakespearian in its intricate plotting and deft irony, "The Return of the Native" ranks among the author's greatest works. Unabridged republication of the classic...