Subtly chronicling the cruel twists and turns of human fate, Fellow-Townsmen exemplifies Hardy’s enduring perfection of his literary craft?and the artistic brilliance of his passionate portrayal of the trials of the human heart. Barnet and Downe are old and good friends in the Wessex town of Port Bredy?yet fate has treated them differently. Barnet, a prosperous man, has been unlucky in love and now lives with the consequences of a judicious but loveless marriage. Downe, a poor solicitor, is radiantly happy, with a doting wife and adoring children. A chance meeting one night causes them to reflect on their disparate lots in life and sets in motion a chain of events that will change their lives forever. Both a meticulous record of English provincial customs and a melancholic reflection on the brevity of human happiness, this short work displays all the artistry of Hardy’s major fiction. Thomas Hardy is one of Britain’s greatest authors; among his most famous works are Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure.