{"product_id":"9781840226348","title":"Desperate Remedies","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction, Notes and Bibliography by Michael Irwin, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Kent, Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe young Thomas Hardy, working as an architect, but fired with literary ambition, tried for years to get into print. He finally succeeded with Desperate Remedies, a 'sensation novel' in the mode of Wilkie Collins. Here was a racy specimen of the genre, replete with sudden death, dark mysteries, intriguing clues, fire and storm, flight and pursuit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnyone who enjoys \u003cem\u003eThe Woman in White\u003c\/em\u003e is likely to enjoy \u003cem\u003eDesperate Remedies.\u003c\/em\u003e But that is only half the story. Hardy contrived also, in this unlikely context, to give a first airing to various of the ideas and technical experiments which were to characterise his later fiction. The result is an exhilaratingly uneven work: at any point in the narrative some brilliant passage of description or metaphor may burst out like a firework. Desperate Remedies can be relished both for what it is and for what it promises.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thomas Hardy","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":56763753201824,"sku":"9781840226348","price":5.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/8637\/5072\/files\/BNCImageAPI_0e7af41d-ae3d-4740-9d17-b2881b10674c.jpg?v=1771622416","url":"https:\/\/rivendell-books.com\/products\/9781840226348","provider":"Rivendell Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}