Better known for the haunting melancholy of his tragic novels,Hardy(1840-1928) was also a great humorist and it is this aspect of his writing which is brought to the fore in The Lighter Hardy.This volume includes the novel Under the Green-Wood Tree and the story 'Our Exploits at West Poley'. Rustic lovers,skylarking schoolboys and a village choir are among those who people the pages of The Lighter Hardy;all are observed with Hardys usual acuteness and,here,a measure of indulgence as Hardy celebrates the quirks of human behaviour.