Samuel West gives a beautiful reading of Hardy's elegant novel about innocence lost and love tragically squandered. Grace Melbury has been educated much above her social station by a father who wanted her to have a better life than could be made in the woodland village of her birth. To assuage his own guilt about a past incident in his life, he had always intended for Grace to marry Giles Winterborne, an honest, reliable man. Grace and Giles had been dear friends since childhood, but when Grace returns to the village after her schooling, Giles seems beneath her in sophistication. Giles loses Grace to dashing doctor Edred Fitzpiers, a charming, unfaithful, weak man who is subsequently dazzled by the local aristocrat, a rather coquettish widow named Mrs. Felice Charmond. This story becomes much deeper through Hardy's elegiac prose and keen eye for detail. One never tires of West's dramatization. This quiet work won't appeal to all patrons, especially those who want only the latest best sellers. Although not one of Hardy's most well-known works (e.g., Jude the Obscure, Audio Reviews, LJ 4/1/98), this is a gem that deserves to be heard.--Nancy Paul, Brandon P.L., WI
