Life, love and literature

When I entered Albany High School as a 9th grader, I remember being somewhat excited! The older teens seemed to have such good times. They were definitely our heroes – in the way they carried themselves, their music, even their cheers and love of high school football! In my English class, my teacher introduced us to Shakespeare, and she also told us about a novel called THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE. She mentioned that we might read it in 10th grade. I never forgot the title because it sounded interesting. She said that it was a novel that every high schooler would have to eventually read. We never did; I don’t know why. Years passed before I got around to actually reading it. I think it had slipped my mind until I had the opportunity to teach it in a British lit class. I began reading, and I escaped into a land that caught me up in one of the most beautiful and tragic stories I have ever read. I can see the heath, the moors, the handsome Clym Yeobright, the native who returns to his home and meets the heroine Eustsacia Vye! It held me in its grip as their doomed relationship grew stronger, then played out against the backdrop of that wild but beautiful fictional world created by Thomas Hardy! Of course he only changed the name of a real place. I asked our tour guide in 2011 where Hardy’s novels were actually set. He told me that he grew up in that part of England and that it was not included as part of the tour. He said that a walking tour of Hardy country was available for people like me should I ever come back to England! Would I have loved that!! I challenge anyone who has not read this to do so. I hope your experience is as positive as mine was and still is whenever I read anything he wrote! Happy discovery if it is your first time.