ABSTRACT
During his career as a novelist Hardy wrote around fifty short stories, the best of which are collected in Wessex Tales (1888) and Life’s Little Ironies (1894). Although they have generally been overlooked in favour of his longer work, some are superb. A few (‘Fellow-Townsmen’) read like a miniature Hardy novel; others (‘The Three Strangers’ is the best example) perform the story-teller’s traditional function, to highlight a memorable or striking event.
