This was my first Thomas Hardy novel, and I was warned beforehand that he tends to be quite depressing. I was a bit confused by this because I found the first few chapters so much fun, though that's probably not what he was going for and says more about me than the writing. I can confirm though the depression kicks in shortly after and continues till end.
 
 The whole thing was a great read, and despite the sadness of the book it was always a delight to sit down with.  The characters are interesting, though I did find Elizabeth-Jane a little flat, Lucetta was great though so I wouldn’t say Hardy is incapable of writing women. I was surprised by several of the twists in this book, and although the style is dated the plot is engaging and the characters realistic. 

I’ll happily read the rest of his novels as I come across them, especially given this is not one of his most well known ones