The Well-Beloved / The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved

Containing the 1892 serial version as well as the version that appeared in book form in 1897, this volume makes available one of Thomas Hardy's lesser-known works. At the center of the story is a sculptor obsessed with the ideal woman, who falls in love with three women in the same family, each of a different generation. Considering the storyline's possibilities, Hardy presents two different "what-ifs".