Thomas Hardy publishes Under the Greenwood Tree

Background. Under the Greenwood Tree was Hardy's second published novel, written after he had abandoned his first attempt at novel-writing, which had produced Desperate Remedies (1871). It was the first of his Wessex novels, setting the scene for the region he would return to repeatedly. Critics view it as an important precursor to his later tragic works, establishing a self-contained country world that serves as a social memory for judging the troubled present.

Genesis. Hardy began work on the novel in 1871. The genesis was a conflict between his grandfather's 'string choir' of viols and voices in Stinsford church and a new vicar who wanted to replace the choir with an organ. Originally titled The Mellstock Quire, Hardy added significant material during the summer of 1871, shifting focus to the love story between Dick and Fancy.

Publication. Hardy offered the manuscript to Macmillan in 1871 but received a discouraging reply. He accepted an offer from Tinsley for £30 for the copyright. The novel was published anonymously on 15 June 1872, with the author's name not appearing on the first edition. It was later published in the United States in June 1873.

Reception. Critics recognize the novel as an important precursor to Hardy's major works. In his 1872 review for the Saturday Review, Horace Moule called it a 'prose idyll'. Irving Howe argued it served as a necessary prequel and establishing myth for the world of Wessex, evoking a self-contained country world.