1874 - 1875: Far from the Madding Crowd to Wreck of the Deutschland.

Chronology of World, British and American Literature.

Thomas Hardy. British. 1874. Novel. Far from the Madding Crowd. Bathsheba’s relationship to three suitors; two die tragically; she marries the steadiest of the three.

James Thomson. British. 1874. Poetry. “The City of the Dreadful Night.” Imaginary city of misery and horror created out of the author’s own sense of despair.

George Eliot. British. 1874/76. Novel. Daniel Deronda. High-spirited Gwen marries mean-spirited and tyrannical Grandcourt to avoid poverty. He drowns because she hesitates in throwing him a rope. Feels guilty. Daniel Deronda, a man with high ideals, offers her advice. She develops finer qualities. Deronda, however, marries another.

Henry James. American/British. 1875. Stories. The Passionate Pilgrim and Other Stories. Title story: American lover of England dies before he can claim a rich estate. Other stories about Americans’ adventures in England.

Gerard Manley Hopkins. British. 1875. Poetry. “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Death of five nuns, drowned off the Welsh coast while seeking refuge in the U.S. from religious persecution in Germany. Problems of suffering, the decline of religion, man’s relationship with God and the nuns’ happiness in dying in God’s hands.