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In this tale of star-crossed love, Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer who... Read Full Overview

Two On A Tower by Thomas Hardy is a tale of star-crossed love in which two lovers come together against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social convention when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an... Read Full Overview

Two On A Tower by Thomas Hardy is a tale of star-crossed love in which two lovers come together against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social convention when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an... Read Full Overview

The Penguin English Library Edition of Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy

'Then they proceeded to scan the sky, roving from planet to star, from single stars to double stars, from double to coloured stars...'

Two on a Tower is Hardy's most complete and daring treatment of the theme of love between characters of different classes and ages. This sensational tale, which some reviewers of the first publication considered to be immoral, is informed throughout by the astronomical images... Read Full Overview

"But time is short, and science is infinite..."

Thomas Hardy (2nd June 1840 - 11th January 1928), celebrated poet and writer, was born in a modest thatched cottage near Dorchester in the West country, to a builder father. His mother came from a line of intelligent, lively and... Read Full Overview

Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with the beautiful youth Swithin St Cleeve, her social inferior and ten years her junior. The tower in question is a monument converted into an astronomical observatory where together the lovers 'sweep... Read Full Overview

Classified by Hardy as a romance and fantasy and now regarded as one of his minor works. The book is one of the Wessex novels, set in a parallel version of late Victorian Dorset.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this... Read Full Overview

Thomas Hardy (June 2 1840-January 11 1928) was a novelist and poet. His is famous for the sober and realistic portrayals of the characters in his novels. While his novels were successful and controversial, he considered himself mainly a poet.