Phillip Mallett is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews. He has edited a number of collections of essays, including Satire, Kipling Considered, Thomas Hardy: Texts and Contexts and The Achievement of Thomas Hardy, as well as critical editions of both The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge. His book, Rudyard Kipling: A Literary Life, was published in 2003.

• List of illustrations; Preface; Note on editions; List of abbreviations; Chronology Phillip Mallett; Part I. Life and Works: 1. Life and life David Amigoni; 2. Memoirs and recollections Trish Ferguson; 3. Friendships William Greenslade; 4. The public Hardy Simon Gatrell; 5. Serial into volume Andrew Nash; 6. Illustration Pamela Dalziel; Part II. Critical Fortunes: 7. Critical responses I: the novels to 1970 Sarah Maier; 8. Critical responses II: the novels from 1970 Tim Dolin; 9. Hardy's poets as his critics Peter Robinson; Part III. The Literary Scene: 10. Thomas Hardy and realism Francis O'Gorman; 11. Tragedy and the novel K. K. Newton; 12. Hardy and the short story Sophie Gilmartin; 13. Poet, poetry, poem Francesco Marroni; 14. The Dynasts in epic context Herbert Tucker; Part IV. The Historical and Cultural Context: 15. Hardy and social class Christine Devine; 16. 'The Dorsetshire Labourer' Fred Reid; 17. Education and social class Jane Mattisson; 18. Hardy and the sociological imagination Roger Ebbatson; 19. Folklore and anthropology Andrew Radford; 20. Archaeology Rebecca Welshman; 21. The Victorian philological contexts of Hardy's poetry Dennis Taylor; 22. Physics, geology, astronomy Adelene Buckland; 23. Culture Mary Rimmer; 24. Hardy and hellenism Shannon Fiske; 25. Faith and doubt Norman Vance; 26. Hardy's philosophy Mark Asquith; 27. Positivism: Comte and Mill T. R. Wright; 28. Hardy and the law Melanie Williams; 29. Hardy, Darwin and The Origin of Species Phillip Mallett; 30. Heredity Angelique Richardson; 31. Psychology Jenny Bourne Taylor; 32. Marriage Ann Heilmann; 33. The new woman Carolyn Burdett; 34. Hardy and masculinity Elizabeth Langland; 35. Hardy's London Keith Wilson; 36. Hardy and Englishness Patrick Parrinder; 37. Empire Jane Bownas and Rena Jackson; 38. Hardy, militarism and war Glen Wickens; 39. Hardy and music John Hughes; 40. Thomas Hardy and the visual arts Jane Thomas; Part V. Legacies: 41. Lawrence's Hardy Michael Herbert; 42. Larkin's Hardy John Osborne; 43. Hardy on film Roger Webster; Further reading.

'The anthology's absorbing 'Historical and Cultural Context' section sheds light on Hardy's interests in anthropology, law, geology, sociology, and 'Englishness'. Contributors provide abundant endnotes and broad-ranging sources, and the 'Further Reading' section and index are excellent … Hardy, the 'Wessex' creator, is fortunate to have such impressive material available for modern readers and serious students of Victorian literature … Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' S. A. Parker, Choice