Eighth plate for Thomas Hardy's "Wessex Folk" (subsequently renamed "A Few Crusted Characters"), "He Was Stone-Dead." by Charles Green

"He Was Stone-Dead."

Charles Green

June 1891

Lithograph

19.5 cm high by 12 cm wide

From Thomas Hardy's "Wessex Folk" (subsequently renamed "A Few Crusted Characters") in Harper's New Monthly Magazine (June 1891): 125.

Scanned image, caption, and commentary by Philip V. Allingham

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL.]

This final plate, depicting the protagonist's finding her uncle dead in his chair just prior to his appointment to renew his cottage's copyhold, appeared on p. 125 in the June number. The stuff of village anecdote in which the canny villager (a young woman who requires a cottage in order to win a husband) outwits the local aristocrat, the tale concludes with Netty's outmaneuvering the scheming squire by duping his agent into believing her uncle is still alive when he signs the renewal document.

Last modified 21 May 2008