Thomas Hardy

A Group of Noble Dames Thomas Hardy

A Group of Noble Dames is an 1891 collection of short stories written by Thomas Hardy. It is a frame narrative in which ten members of a club each tell one story about a noble dame in the 17th or 18th century. The book has the following stories: Part I-Before Dinner: The First Countess of Wessex by the local historian Barbara of the House of Grebe by the old surgeon The Marchioness of Stonehenge by the rural dean Lady Mottisfont by the sentimental member Part II-After Dinner: The Lady Icenway by the churchwarden Squire Petrick's Lady by the crimson maltster Anna, Lady Baxby by the colonel The Lady Penelope by the man of family The Duchess Of Hamptonshire by the quiet gentleman The Honourable Laura by the spark