Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wessex Tales is Thomas Hardy’s first collection of short stories, all set in his fictional Wessex. There are seven stories, and most of them are inspired by legends, superstitions or tales handed down over the years. Most of the inspirations for the stories are events that took place before Hardy was born.

Wessex Tales was published in 1888, and falls between the publication of The Woodlanders and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, so it comes relatively late in his career. Hardy published three collections of short stories. In many ways, Hardy’s short stories are much more accessible than his novels.

I can’t really say much about any of the stories for fear of spoilers, but they are all good reads. I liked all of the stories, but I especially enjoyed “The Three Strangers” and “The Withered Arm” as well as “The Distracted Preacher.”