The Well-Beloved is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1897. It tells the story of a sculptor named Jocelyn Pierston, who becomes obsessed with finding the perfect woman. He believes that he has found her in three different women over the course of his life, but each time he is disappointed when they fail to meet his ideal. The novel is set in the Isle of Slingers, a fictional location off the coast of southern England. Jocelyn's search for the perfect woman takes him through various relationships and encounters, including with his childhood sweetheart Avice Caro and her daughter Annabel. As Jocelyn grows older, he becomes increasingly disillusioned with his search and begins to question whether his ideal woman even exists. The novel explores themes of love, desire, and the nature of beauty, as well as the limitations of human perception and the role of fate in our lives. The Well-Beloved is considered one of Hardy's most experimental works, with its fragmented narrative structure and unconventional use of multiple viewpoints. It has been praised for its psychological depth and its exploration of the complexities of human relationships.The pedestrian was what he looked like--a young man from London and the cities of the Continent. Nobody could see at present that his urbanism sat upon him only as a garment. He was just recollecting with something of self-reproach that a whole three years and eight months had flown since he paid his last visit to his father at this lonely rock of his birthplace, the intervening time having been spent amid many contrasting societies, peoples, manners, and scenes.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.