The Return of the Native

Clim Yeobright, tired of city life, returns from Paris to open a school on Egdon Heath and, in spite of the opposition of his mother, marries Eustacia Vye, a passionate, pleasure-loving girl who hopes to persuade him to return to Paris. The Return of the Native was controversial in its day, causing quite a stir when it first appeared in the January-December 1878 issues of the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism. Because of the novel's risqué themes, author Thomas Hardy had difficulty finding a publisher. Today, The Return of the Native is one of Hardy's most popular novels.