The Mystery of Edwin Drood Book

3.5 stars, rounded down. Still a very well written novel.

Desperate Remedies was Thomas Hardy's first published novel, and while failing to live up to his later works, it foreshadows the brilliant author he would come to be. In a Thomas Hardy channels Wilkie Collins fashion, this novel is a bit of a mystery novel, and lacks the depth of idea development that makes Hardy one of my favorite authors. By three-quarters of the way through, I had guessed at most of the riddles that had been set for us and had a clear idea of exactly where the plot was going.

You might think this would have made the reading less enjoyable, but I find Hardy's remarkable character development and descriptions are fascinating, even in a lesser work. He can describe an activity, in this novel it was cider pressing, with such amazing detail, that you can picture vividly the men at work and thrill with understanding the mechanics of a skill that is literally now lost in time.

Thrust into poverty at the death of her father, a young girl, Cytherea, is forced to seek employment as a lady's maid, and takes up that station with a woman who turns out to be the love of her father's life who slipped through his fingers under strange circumstances. Cytherea is an exceptionally lovely girl, and she becomes the object of desire for two men; but her love-life proves to be anything but a simple and straight-forward affair.

There is a great deal of backroom plotting and inexplicable interference in Cytherea's life by her lady employer, Mrs. Aldclyffe, some false information to overcome and some errors in judgment that make one cringe. The story is neatly tied at the end, no pesky strands left unresolved. From another author, this book might have garnered an extra star. In this case, the author is Thomas Hardy, and the comparison cannot help but be made with his masterpieces, in which case this book falls a tad short.

I am on a quest to read all of Hardy's works, and I am pleased to have read this one. It was a pleasant way to ease myself back into a reading mode, something I had left behind me, out of necessity, for the last few months.