Hardy is a remarkable writer, whether with novels or short stories. I have not read his poetry, but love his prose. Hardy stories are built on tragedy of one sort or another, and this collection seems to take extra delight in stabbing at the institution of marriage and English social classes. There are 8 short and longer stories here; the 8th one is a story of stories. Two of these seemed familiar to me while reading and I am rather certain I have read them elsewhere quite some time ago.

I'm not sure I could claim a favorite story in this collection, but perhaps the first, "An Imaginative Woman" which certainly started these stories off well. ( )