''The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters'' is a novel by

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for ''

The Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in London.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictionary ...

'', which was edited by

Leslie Stephen Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. Life Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellectua ...

, a friend and

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

of Hardy's. Unlike the majority of Hardy's fiction, the novel is a comedy, with both humour and a happy ending for the major characters and no suicides or tragic deaths. The late nineteenth century novelist

George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include ''The Nether World'' (1889), ''New Grub ...

, who knew Hardy, considered it "surely old Hardy's poorest book".

Plot summary

At the beginning of the book, it is told that Ethelberta was raised in humble circumstances but, through her work as a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, married well at the age of eighteen. Her husband died two weeks after the wedding and, now twenty-one, Ethelberta lives with her mother-in-law, Lady Petherwin. In the three years that have elapsed since the deaths of both her husband and father-in-law, Ethelberta has been treated to foreign travel and further privilege by her benefactress, but restricted from seeing her poor family. The events of the story concern Ethelberta's career as a famous poet and storyteller as she struggles to support her family and conceal her secret—that her father is a butler. Beautiful, clever, and rational, she easily attracts four very persistent suitors (Mr. Christopher Julian (a struggling musician), Mr. Neigh and Mr. Ladywell, both gentlemen and friends, and Lord Mountclere, a 65-year old aristocrat with a dubious past, but is reluctant to give her much-coveted hand. She finally elects for Lord Mountclere, after he discovers the secret of her low birth and family, and she comes to dominate him, running his estate and saving him from bankruptcy. Her unrequited suitor Christopher Julian realises he would never have been happy with her had she married him, and settles for her younger sister Picotee who had been in love with him for years.

Illustrations by
George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...

File:SheStoppedLikeAClock.jpg, "She Stopped Like a Clock" File:RoundHerLeaningAgainstBranches.jpg, "Round Her, Leaning Against Branches, or Prostrate on the Ground, Were Two or Three Individuals" File:GoodnessHowQuickYouWere.jpg, "Goodness! How Quick You Were" File:ItWasATenderTime.jpg, "It Was A Tender Time" File:TheHarefieldEstate.jpg, "The Harefield Estate" File:SoEthelbertaWent.jpg, "So Ethelberta Went" File:CanYouTellUstheWaySirtotheHotelBoldSoldier.jpg, "Can You Tell Us the Way, Sir, to the Hotel Bold Soldier?" File:IntheWritingoftheComposerObservedLordMountclerewithInterest.jpg, "'In the Writing of the Composer', Observed Lord Mountclere with Interest" File:AllBeforeThemWasASheetofWhiteness.jpg, "All Before Them Was A Sheet of Whiteness" File:SheLessenedinHisGazeandWasSoonOutofSight.jpg, "She Lessened in His Gaze, and Was Soon Out of Sight"

Reception

Adaptations

It was adapted for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Katherine Jakeways Katherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer. She has appeared in numerous television, radio and theatrical productions. Career Jakeways' television appearances include '' Extras'', ''Horrible Histories'', '' Sherlock'', ''Trace ...

. The one-hour play was released just before

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

2021, as part of a series on Hardy's women.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hand Of Ethelberta, The 1876 British novels Novels by Thomas Hardy English novels Works originally published in The Cornhill Magazine Novels first published in serial form