Thomas Hardy, Sensationalism, and the Melodramatic Mode

Thomas Hardy, Sensationalism, and the Melodramatic Mode provides the first full-length study of sensationalist and melodramatic elements in Hardy’s novels.  Through a discussion of six of Hardy’s texts, this book demonstrates the ways in which he uses the melodramatic mode to advance his critique of established Victorian cultural beliefs through the employment of non-realistic plot devices and sensational “excess.”