The Trumpet-Major (Wordsworth Classics)

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Saint-Pierre, Bernardin de, Paul et Virginie, Garnier-Flammarion, Paris, 1966, first published in 1788. From this point the novel slips into farce with confusion, mistaken identity, dissemblance, secrecy, pretence and so much else which causes Anne to ‘feel that she did not like life particularly well; it was too complicated…’ (chapter 30). John sees Robert and Anne canoodling and immediately decides to help his brother’s suit. He pretends to be in love with an actress (they assume her to be Matilda who plays along). The whole episode at the theatre is full of smoke and mirrors. Even the news brought to the King of a great triumph at the Battle of Cape Finisterre is what, in reality, not a victory because the real Admiral Sir Robert Calder was court-martialled and severely reprimanded rather than being seen as the hero as initially assumed (chapter 30). When the first performance is over, the curtain falls and the final act begins the farce of ‘No Song for Supper’. I am assuming that Hardy means No Song No Supper by Stephen Storace which itself has a complicated plot of pretence, disguise, separations, overheard conversations…etc… rather like The Trumpet-Major wherein it appears as a theatrical episode. Note added after this paper was delivered on Saturday 24 October 2020]. During the Study Day, Alastair Simpson – Actor and Musical Conductor of The New Hardy Players; spoke evocatively about Thomas Hardy being strongly influenced by the comèdia dell’arte characters of Harlequin (Bob Loveday), Columbine (Anne Garland), Pantaloon (Benjamin Derriman), Captain (Festus Derriman), Soubrette (Matilda Johnson) and, of course, Pierrot (John Loveday). Mark and Andrew North also delivered a paper on ‘A Ridge in Wessex: South Dorset During the Napoleonic Wars’ during which they paralleled real events with Hardy’s presentation of both the military as well as places in Dorset/Wessex in the novel. Speakers on the day compared Hardy’s presentation of the Fencibles to the Twentieth Century popular television comedy Dad’s Army. These, and other, links made during the day reinforce the strong theatrical/pantomimic/farcical underpinnings of aspects of Hardy’s The Trumpet-Major. Hardy also employs a shifting point of view throughout the novel, allowing the reader to see events from multiple perspectives. The narrative is primarily told from Anne’s point of view, but there are also sections narrated by John, Robert, and other minor characters. This technique adds depth and complexity to the story, as the reader is able to understand the motivations and emotions of each character. Anne’s character is shaped by her experiences and her relationships with the men in her life. She is the daughter of a farmer and has grown up in a rural community where women are expected to be submissive and obedient. However, Anne rebels against these expectations and asserts her independence by refusing to marry Bob, who is her father’s choice for her husband.

The allegations of plagiarism did not affect the popularity of The Trumpet Major. In October, 1881, a second edition in one volume was printed by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, and reprinted in 1887, 1890, 1892, and 1893 (Weber 260). The flaw of unintentional plagiarism in The Trumpet Major is quite evident, although today, when the practice of postmodern citation, known as intertextuality, is widespread and acceptable, Hardy may be excused for borrowing a short printed text and placing it in a new context. In his 'Notebook' he had jotted down extracts or paraphrases from various sources and treated them as 'raw material' for his fiction. After some time he may not even have remembered whether the “militia drill scene” was a literal copy or a paraphrase. Shortly after the publication of The Trumpet Major the Critic, a New York periodical, accused Hardy of plagiarising the amusing militia drill scene in Chapter 23 entitled “Military Preparations on an Extended Scale,” from Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's book, Georgia Scenes, published in America in 1840. The accusation was reprinted in the Academy, a London periodical, in February 1882, and caused a consternation. Although the charges of plagiarism were repeated in American and English periodicals, Hardy did not make a public reply until 1895. In the preface to the 1895 edition of The Trumpet Major, he stated that the accusations were groundless because he had taken the militia drill scene from Gifford's book of military anecdotes, and was completely unaware of Longstreet's work. In fact, Hardy drew heavily upon Gifford's History of the Wars Occasioned By the French Revolution and reproduced almost verbatim in The Trumpet Major a sketch “Satire upon American Discipline,” which Gifford had reproduced himself from a comic sketch published in a Georgia newspaper by Oliver H. Prince (1782-1837), a lawyer, journalist, story writer and a US Senator. Through his exploration of politics and power, Hardy raises questions about the nature of authority and the consequences of its abuse. He exposes the flaws and limitations of those in positions of power, highlighting the potential for corruption and manipulation. By doing so, Hardy invites readers to reflect on the broader implications of political decisions and the responsibility of those in power to act in the best interest of the people they govern.Anne Garland, who lives with her widowed mother in a mill owned by Miller Loveday, has three suitors: the local squire's nephew Festus and the miller's two sons, Robert and John. While Festus' aggressive pursuit deters the young woman from considering him as a husband, the indecisive Anne wavers between light-hearted Bob and gentle, steadfast John. But as their Wessex village prepares for possible invasion by Napoleon's fleet, all find their destinies increasingly tangled with the events of history. The Loveday brothers, one a sailor and one a soldier, must wrestle with their commitments to their country and their feelings for Anne. Lyrical and light-hearted, yet shot through with irony, The Trumpet-Major (1880) is one of Hardy's most unusual novels and a fascinating tale of love and desire. Read more Details

Hardy skillfully depicts the stark contrast between the gentry and the working class, highlighting the vast disparities in wealth, education, and social privileges. The Trumpet-Major himself, John Loveday, represents the lower class, working as a humble soldier, while his love interest, Anne, comes from a family aspiring to climb the social ladder. Michael Irwin is right when he says that the Victorian novel reflects the popularity of melodrama in the Nineteenth Centuryv. The Trumpet-Major is full of what Irwin terms as the ‘extremities’ intrinsic to everyday life. Indeed, melodrama is used by Hardy precisely as Irwin suggests that melodrama in novels is: as a contrast to everyday life. Of course, Michael Irwin’s analysis of melodrama in the Nineteenth Century novel is significantly more complex than the simplistic use that I am making of it here for purposes of this brief talk. There are many examples of melodrama – and indeed, farce – in the novel. One example is the section which describes Benjamin’s insistence on Anne Garland coming to see him. When she eventually agrees to do so, he accompanies her down to a dark and dingy cellar to show her where he hides his tin box containing his valuables (chapter 24). Hardy, like all ‘great novelists’, in the words of Michael Irwin, ‘modulate[s] more or less uneasily into melodrama on occasion’.vi One of the most intriguing characters in Thomas Hardy’s The Trumpet-Major is Anne Garland. Anne is a young woman who is torn between two men: John Loveday, the trumpet-major, and Bob Loveday, his brother. Anne is a complex character who is both strong-willed and vulnerable. She is fiercely independent and refuses to be controlled by anyone, yet she is also deeply in love with John and struggles with her feelings for him throughout the novel. Aside from all that it is a charming love square story, in which charming young Anne Garland is obliged to chose this is a narrow society in which an unmarried woman seen more than a couple of time in proximity to a man without bring married to him is thought to be a Jezebel, and a few times more, the same but multiplied by Potifer's wife, it is also a very English society marked by continual gradations in social status which some feel must be defended at the risk of social demotionbetween two doughty sons of the neighbouring miller Loveday (in whose mill building the Widow Garland and her charming daughter rent a dwelling), one - unreliable and a sailor as well as being her childhood sweetheart, the second - the eponymous and faithful Trumpet-Major, the third option is Hardy's take on Mr Darcy - a bombastic, boozy, braggart in this story known as Festus Derriman, whose only merit is his relative wealth. In this talk, I aim to show that The Trumpet-Major is, in fact, a serious work with many attributes of great literature and that, by weaving fiction and historical truths, Hardy endows the novel with a unique representation of reality.The love story at the centre of the novel plays like a complex dance, with the two brothers, John and Bob Loveday and the villainous Festus Derriman all trying to gain the hand of Anne Garland. The sense of impending peril, with the ultimate fate of the young men unknown, in a time of war, serves to make the lightness and comedy that runs through The Trumpet-Major bittersweet, but the novel is all the deeper and richer for that sense of a tragic epilogue. Furthermore, “The Trumpet-Major” has also had a significant influence on subsequent works of literature. Many authors have drawn inspiration from Hardy’s novel, incorporating its themes and motifs into their own writing. The novel’s exploration of love, war, and societal expectations continues to resonate with contemporary writers, who find in Hardy’s work a rich source of inspiration and a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.

Hardy was born in 1840, some 35 years after this period, and it's not hard to imagine him sitting, as a child, listening to first-hand accounts of life in Dorset during that time and the way in which it dominated local people's lives. The sense of these real recollections is woven into The Trumpet-Major – from Anne Garland and the old sailor watching out for the Victory in the English Channel, to the pervasive fear of press-gangs and imminent invasion, to the news freshly brought of the Battle of Trafalgar and death of Nelson, told with both intimacy and a sense of its historical momentousness. Despite the mixed reception, “The Trumpet-Major” remains an important work in Hardy’s literary canon. Its exploration of themes such as love, war, and societal expectations continues to resonate with readers and scholars alike. Whether viewed as a historical novel, a social commentary, or a character study, “The Trumpet-Major” offers a rich and nuanced reading experience that invites further analysis and interpretation. Adaptations and Influences In comparing “The Trumpet-Major” to other works by Thomas Hardy, it becomes evident that the novel stands out as a unique and captivating piece of literature. While Hardy is known for his exploration of themes such as fate, love, and the complexities of human relationships, “The Trumpet-Major” takes a different approach. Overall, Anne Garland is a complex and compelling character who embodies the struggles and contradictions of women in the 19th century. Her journey throughout the novel is one of self-discovery and growth, as she learns to navigate the challenges of love, duty, and societal expectations. Themes and MotifsIn 1958 The Musicmakers presented a "new musical in three acts" titled Farewell my Fancy at the Everyman Theatre in Reading. With book, music and lyrics by Michael Wild, the piece was a musical comedy "suggested" by The Trumpet Major and it featured all the major characters of the book. It was given six performances from 24 to 29 November 1958. A note of apology in the programme suggests that it was not authorised by the Hardy Estate. [9] Historical analysis [ edit ] Hardy, The Trumpet Major and the Napoleonic Wars [ edit ]

Moreover, Hardy delves into the tension between religion and superstition, as characters grapple with the supernatural and the inexplicable. The presence of folklore and superstitions, such as the belief in witches and omens, adds an element of mysticism to the narrative, blurring the lines between religion and spirituality. The Trumpet-Majorappeared in monthly instalments in the magazineGood Words, running from January to December 1880. In October 1880 it was published by Smith, Elder & Co. in three-volume form. Let me try to explain why I include Hardy’s so-called ‘lesser’ novel The Trumpet-Major in this list of readings and re-readings. That is true in spades for The Trumpet-Major (1880), which offers up a highly unexpected genre-bending, or genre-blending, concoction. It is a historical novel, set in the Napoleonic period, with a convoluted romantic plot, and a surprising element of comedy, which the notes to my edition attributes to Hardy’s interest in the Victorian theatrical tradition of harlequinades, deriving ultimately from the commedia dell’arte. Anything less likely to have been penned by the author of Jude the Obscure can barely be imagined. It is recognizably Hardyesque only in its “Wessex” setting and its rich evocation of a vanished rural world. Unfortunately, Hardy, who was now 68 years old, couldn't attend the play as he was suffering from a chill, but Emma Hardy was there. He was, however, delighted by its reception.

XL.  A CALL ON BUSINESS

The Trumpet-Major is a novel by Thomas Hardy that is set in the early 19th century during the Napoleonic Wars. The story takes place in the fictional town of Budmouth, which is based on the real town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. The novel provides a vivid portrayal of life in rural England during this time period, including the social and economic changes that were taking place.