Thomas Hardy is much more recognisable as a writer of novels than of short stories, although poetry became more important in his later life. His total output of short stories equals about the number of pages of one of his novels. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hardy did not write novellas; his shorter works are mostly what we would consider short stories with a length of 15 - 20 pages, while longer ones are cameo-like, offering portraits of characters. Perhaps Hardy used the short story as a character sketch. Likewise, Fellow-Townsmen could be seen as a sketch for a novel. It was included in Wessex Tales (1888), numbering 45 pages (70 pages in this Hesperus edition).

Fellow-Townsmen is like a miniature Hardy novel. Like many of his novels there are three main characters and the theme of unrequitted love. Set in the imaginary landscape of Wessex, a young woman falls for and loves a man of moderate means, while the other lover moves away. When he returns years later, and finds out she is a widow he proposes to her, but is rejected. She changes her mind, and when she starts out to look for him the following day, discovers that he has left again. As with many of Hardy's major novels, a love-triangle and fate are important elements. Although Fellow-Townsmen is conceived as a short story, the time line in the story spans several decades, as a novel would need to develop the plot.

Still, the story cannot be a real substitute for the magnificent novels, but a nice intermezzo. Or perhaps a nice introduction for readers new to Thomas Hardy, who might look for a short work to taste before tackling one of the novels. ( )