Thomas Hardy, The Trumpet Major

Tracy Hayes (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Grace Moore, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1880

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Only one of Thomas Hardy’s novels focuses on the idea of military masculinity -

The Trumpet-Major

(1880). Invariably dismissed by critics both in Hardy’s time and today as his weakest novel, Richard Nemesvari goes so far as to liken

The Trumpet-Major

to “a Jane Austen novel run slightly out of control” (p. 10). However, Hardy’s research into the military during the reign of George III in preparation for this novel was extensive. He compiled a notebook of more than one hundred and twenty pages, containing detailed descriptions of the movements of the Royal Family when they visited Weymouth between 1783 and 1807 – the years comprising the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and the concomitant threat of invasion. The notebook records army exercises and deployments…

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3238 words

Citation: Hayes, Tracy. "The Trumpet Major". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 December 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7990, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Thomas Hardy, The Trumpet Major

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