Thomas Hardy The Woodlanders Quite simply The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy is a love story. "I return to this book again and again - it's the only "happy" one hardy ever wrote." As with most Hardy novels none the characters are left fulfilled at the end of the story but The Woodlanders is not quite as tragic as some of Hardy's other works. Hardy can often reduce me to tears either by the beauty of how lovingly he describes the scenes in the novel or by the way he allows some awful fate to befall on some of his most beloved characters. I have always liked to read books more than once, although I often feel guilty because I think to myself 'At this rate I am never going to read every book before I die. Here I am re-reading another huge book for the fifth time. What am I doing?' But I can't help it because The Woodlanders is a story you can get lost in. There is something about re-reading the books you love over and over again. It can take you back to a place and they capture something in you that can never be lost but can only be resurrected by revisiting it. It sits there remained untouched until you experience that same feeling again. A book like The Woodlanders never fails to take you back to that feeling.