Desperate Remedies was written in response to publishers who rejected Thomas Hardy’s first novel, a socio-political story called The Poor Man and The Lady (which was never published and the manuscript was later destroyed by Hardy; a great pity), who wanted a more sensationalist story without ... Read review
Advantages: Very funny, enjoyable melodrama Disadvantages: Not for everyone
Desperate Remedies was written in response to publishers who rejected Thomas Hardy’s first novel, a socio-political story called The Poor Man and The Lady (which was never published and the manuscript was later destroyed by Hardy; a great pity), who wanted a more sensationalist story without the political overtones. The result, although not considered one of Hardy’s best works, is a delightful Victorian melodrama that’s extremely entertaining. The ... ...but as she grows more desperate she is forced to advertise her services as a maid and is offered a job by the mysterious Miss Aldclyffe.
Miss Aldclyffe is heiress to Knapwater, currently in possession of her elderly father. She is resolutely single and of an indeterminate age – she looks younger than she actually is and tries to obscure her true age. She takes a liking to Cytherea and sets in motion a chain of events that leads to ... more
Desperate Remedies was written in response to publishers who rejected Thomas Hardy’s first novel, a socio-political story called The Poor Man and The Lady (which was never published and the manuscript was later destroyed by Hardy; a great pity), who wanted a more sensationalist story without the political overtones. The result, although not considered one of Hardy’s best works, is a delightful Victorian melodrama that’s extremely entertaining. The prose is poetic, as in Hardy’s later novels, and the descriptions of nature and landscape are particularly evocative, although not quite a polished as later novels. I found it a joy to read and it’s certainly better than most writers’ best works.
It starts somewhat mysteriously with the story of Ambrose Graye, who loses his lover, Cytherea, for no apparent reason. It then skips forward some years to Cytherea Graye, Ambrose’s daughter and named after his lost love, who witnesses her father’s death as she watches him fall off a church. Having no other family, Cytherea and her bother, Owen, are forced to fend for themselves and decide to move to Creston (a town based on Weymouth). Owen’s failure to secure a good job leads to Cytherea having to advertise in hope of getting a position as a governess or companion, but as she grows more desperate she is forced to advertise her services as a maid and is offered a job by the mysterious Miss Aldclyffe.
Miss Aldclyffe is heiress to Knapwater, currently in possession of her elderly father. She is resolutely single and of an indeterminate age – she looks younger than she actually is and tries to obscure her true age. She takes a liking to Cytherea and sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Cytherea being put in the dubious position of not knowing whether or not she is the true wife of someone, following the apparent death of his first wife. The plot is derived from good old-fashioned farce and is very enjoyable – just don’t take it too seriously! Comedy merges with the tragedy and, despite critics regarding Desperate Remedies as a throwaway novel compared to Hardy’s later works, I loved it.
Cytherea has been accused of being an uninteresting character and it is true that she tends to fade into the background at certain points in the novel, but she’s also a parody of a Victorian heroine worrying about her social position and romantic prospects. When viewed with tongue in cheek, Cytherea becomes infinitely more interesting and bears all the hallmarks of the archetypal fictional Victorian woman – suffering from ill-placed love, reduced to poverty following the death of her father, becoming the pet of an older woman of a much higher status... You can easily envision her clutching her smelling salts as she swoons over a suitor!
As with any self-respecting melodrama, there is a villain in the shape of the subversive Manston, who has a mysterious relationship with Miss Aldclyffe and his eyes set on Cytherea. Manston seems nice at first, but gradually grows more and more villainous – to the extent that the reader never knows how far he’ll go. His rival is Edward Springrove, who Cytherea falls in love with at Creston, before discovering that he has an ‘arrangement’ with his cousin and is expected to marry her. Can Edward escape his engagement of convenience and marry Cytherea? Will Cytherea see past Manston’s charm? There are plenty of twists and turns along the way...
Anyone with a basic knowledge of Hardy and the circumstances in which Desperate Remedies was written (following the complete rejection of The Poor Man and the Lady) can see that this is satire, although it does have serious points (the position of women, particularly single women, in society is one theme), and to take it at face value would be a mistake – you’ll be ignoring the humour and sacrificing much of your pleasure in reading it. Hardy was giving the publishers what they wanted. Let’s be realistic though: if you hate 19th century literature, chances are you won’t like the writing style of Desperate Remedies. However, this is essential reading for those of us who love 19th century literature – and especially for fans of Hardy.
I purchased the Penguin Classics edition (ISBN 0-140-43523-9 RRP £10.99) which has an extensive and interesting, but ultimately unnecessary, introduction by Mary Rimmer. However, its notes are far more informative than the introduction and I found them indispensable – you can understand the novel without them, but I liked the extra information provided. There is also a glossary for those who may not understand certain dialect words, but I didn’t need this since I live just outside Hardy country! The same edition is on Amazon for £7.14, and worth getting for the notes, but there’s also one by Nonsuch Publishing for £4.80 (RRP £6.00) if you want to save a few pennies. I wholly recommend it.
