A Pair of Blue Eyes

It seems like I’ve been reading A Pair of Blue Eyes for ages. This is probably to be expected given that I’ve been working hard on my thesis of late. Well, I finally finished it, and in the end it was a much better read than I originally gave it credit for. Of course, it ended more or less in the same manner that all Hardy novels end: sadly. A Pair of Blue Eyes is the story of Elfride Swancourt and two suitors, Stephen Smith and Henry Knight. I haven’t given any of the story away by stating this here: as much is written in the blurb on the back cover of the novel. But I won’t say any more, except that, as I have come to expect of Hardy novels, this book is very much a character study of the protagonists, more than it is a romance between characters. Another excellent novel from one of my favourite authors.