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Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Nov 15, 2025 11:47 AM

Author:Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure

Jude Fawley, the stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty from the world of Christminster privilege, finds fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both have left earlier marriages. Ironically, when tragedy tests their union it is Sue, the modern emancipated woman, who proves unequal to the challenge. Hardy's fearless exploration of sexual and social relationships and his prophetic critique of marriage scandalised the late Victorian establishment and marked the end of his career as a novelist.

Reviews

One of the great novel-sequences in English Literature – a wonderful portrait of society, full of insight into the complexities of human behaviour, richly detailed and shrewdly funny.

—— William Boyd

Discovering Anthony Powell’s “A Dance to the Music of Time” has been one of the greatest pleasures of my reading life. The cool elegance of the prose, the deliciously dry humour, the confident choreography of his characters make for an incomparable treat.

—— Michael Palin

“A Dance To The Music of Time” is an epic, elegant masterpiece, so full of lightness and comedy that you're unprepared for how it quietly wrecks your heart.

—— Lauren Groff

Powell’s novel sequence is at once a rich chronicle of 20th-century English social life and an intricately wrought work of art. It is also extremely funny, in its sly fashion.

—— John Banville

The novels of Powell’s “A Dance to the Music of Time” themselves move hand in hand in intricate measure through the last century, bearing wisdom and understanding for the present. In an ever-quicker, ever-shallower world, his steadiness and wit reliably escort the reader into depth and patience. Nobody gives pattern to the spectacle of human existence like Powell.

—— Louisa Young

A masterful stylist and a wise, often hilarious observer of human nature and his times, Anthony Powell is an under-appreciated literary gem. The pleasures and dramas of the “Dance” continue to illuminate daily life.

—— Claire Messud

Reading “A Dance to the Music of Time” was such a joyous experience, I remember wishing there'd been more than twelve volumes.

—— Roddy Doyle

I re-read the "Dance" every five years or so and always find something new – the world has changed but the characters are evergreen. Everybody has a Widmerpool in their life.

—— Daisy Goodwin

He has wit, style, and panache, in a world where those qualities are in permanently short supply

—— The New York Review of Books

[A] comic masterpiece

—— Irish Times

Comic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive

—— Daily Telegraph

It's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English Literature.

—— Melvyn Bragg

Perfect holiday novel, Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott. Truman Capote’s struggle with art and society reimagined

—— Linda Grant, author of THE DARK CIRCLE

[A] seductive spellbinding debut... Greenberg-Jephcott beautifully captures the pain and poignancy alongside the privilege

—— S Magazine, Sunday Express

Impressive and clever reimagining of Truman Capote’s fall from grace.

—— Sunday Times

A moving account of Capote's own giddy, talent-fuelled ascent and the self-destructive plummet that follows

—— Mail on Sunday

Brilliantly written, deeply researched, funny, sharp and moving, this wonderful book marks the debut of a major talent.

—— Kate Williams, bestselling author of Josephine

Swan Song is a whirlwind tour of private jets to Mexico resorts, playboys’ yachts in the Mediterranean, Manhattan martini lunches and so much scandal ... [A] riveting novel

—— Red

Scandalous, frenetic, amusing and tragic, this throws open the doors to a privileged world driven by money, sex, power and influence, where stakes are high and, when trust is broken, there’s much to lose.

—— Daily Mail

A fascinating look at American high society in the Sixties and Seventies, and a portrait of a talented writer who couldn’t resist gossip, even if meant ruining his life

—— Stylist

Greenberg-Jephcott's debut is a devastating read that blurs the lines between vulnerability and narcissism; sex and power. And, ultimately, it is Capote's self-destruction that will have you racing breathlessly towards the end

—— The Pool

Simultaneously fabulous and tragic, Swan Song is an incredibly accomplished debut

—— Attitude

Our generation’s The Secret History

—— Pendora

Triumphant debut…remarkable

—— Woman & Home

A vivid debut … based on ten years of research, this is a dazzling read that’s been worth the wait

—— Image Magazine

Stunning... It’s probably one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever owned

—— Bookish Chat Blog

Hypnotically fascinating

—— The Arts Desk

The book is dripping with atmosphere and character and is such a pleasure to read.

—— And Then I Read A Book blog

Pure pleasure

—— Evening Standard Magazine

She deftly gives us an insight into their inner lives... while creating defined personalities that resonate and intrigue. Lyrical and fascinating, the fact that this is Greenberg-Jephcott's debut is astounding.

—— Emerald Street

A stunning debut novel that seamlessly blends history, fact and fiction in this imaginative re-telling of the life of novelist Truman Capote

—— Woman's Weekly

A brilliant first novel

—— Rose Tremain , Daily Mail

A slick debut pulled off with brio, Swan Song is glamorous, vivid and sometimes even daring in its intelligence

—— Irish Times

A dazzling read

—— Image magazine

Greenberg-Jephcott’s debut is fizzing with energy and ideas…The novel has style and substance in spades.

—— Observer

With a grounding in history, it is a fascinating read about the deepest secrets of an iconic author.

—— Hello!

Intoxicating

—— Prima

Swan Song is utterly divine.It swept me up and I just couldn't put it down ... it is the writing in this debut novel that astounds most of all. It is vivid, addictive and whips up a terrific portrait of a deeply contradictory and complex man, contrasting scenes from his unorthodox childhood with those from the gilded bubble he ended up in that he lanced through his own actions.

—— Victoria Sadler

A sumptuous look at the icons of Manhattan's high society scene in the mid-20th century ... An immersive readthat will have you questioning real histories versus the ones we create for ourselves.

—— History Extra
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