Two on a Tower

Written by Thomas Hardy

Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

Thomas Hardy’s moving story of star-crossed lovers shows human beings at the mercy of forces beyond their control, setting a tragic drama of human passion against a backdrop of space and scientific discovery.Unhappily married, Lady Constantine defies social standards when she falls in love with the youthful and socially inferior Swithin St. Cleeve. In an ancient monument converted into an astronomical observatory, they isolate themselves from society and create their own private universe—until the pressures of the outside world threaten to tear them apart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504673518

Reviews for Two on a Tower

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this lesser known work of Thomas Hardy but the ending was quite a shock. In this book Hardy is starting to get into the more tragic works he is better known for.Lady Constantine has been abandoned by her husband who decided to go hunting in Africa a few years ago. He seems to be quite a bully as, before he left, he exacted a promise from his wife that she would not go into society during his absence. This promise has led Lady Constantine to a very circumscribed life. She meets Swithin St. Cleve who is using a tower on her husband's land to study astronomy. Swithin is only 20 years old and very good looking. "He had such a complexion as that with which Raffaelle enriches the countenance of the youthful son of Zacharias,-- a complexion which, though clear, is far enough removed from virgin delicacy, and suggests plenty of sun and wind as its accompaniment. His features were sufficiently straight in the contours to correct the beholder's firs impression that the head was the head of a girl." Lady Constantine (Viviette) thinks that the study of astronomy would be sufficiently interesting to her to take her out of her boring life. She is almost 10 years older than Swithin but finds herself quite attracted to him. When Swithin falls dangerously ill she flies to his bedside and kisses him with ardour. Swithin recovers and soon after Lady Constantine receives news that her husband has died of dysentery in Africa. Swithin realizes, after overhearing some locals, that Viviette is in love with him and he realizes that he loves her. This realization causes him to ignore his astronomy and he proposes to Viviette. They decide to marry in secret in Bath and then return to Wessex to live separately until Swithin achieves success. Viviette must be the one to establish residency in Bath because a storm has caused damage to Swithin's grandmother's house and he has to stay to repair it. On his way to Bath he meets the postman who gives him a letter informing him that a great-uncle has left him an annuity on the condition that he remain unmarried until he is 25 years old.Thus the major themes of the book are set in place. If the marriage takes place then Swithin loses his best chance to become a famous astronomer since neither he nor Viviette have much money and the life of a scientist is expensive. He may think his love for Viviette will be sufficient but there is also the age difference. If the marriage doesn't take place then at least one of them and perhaps both will be miserable. Swithin is the rational scientist but he is also deeply in love. Viviette is a romantic but she would give up her own happiness for Swithin. I'm a bit of an astronomy buff so I found lots of the details fascinating. In modern times the countryside has so much light pollution that it is difficult to see the Milky Way but Swithin and Viviette saw it as a bright ribbon across the sky. I envy that. One astronomy detail puzzles me though: at their first meeting Swithin is looking at the sun through his telescope. I've always heard that you should never look directly at the sun especially with lenses or you risk eye damage. How did Swithin (and later Viviette) manage to do this?

[winterborne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Supposedly, this is one of Hardy's minor works. Initially published as a serial, it concerns the (as one would expect from Hardy, ill-fated) romance between Swithin St Cleeve, amateur astronomer and orphaned son of a farmer, and Lady Viviette Constantine, who has been deserted by her husband.It's relatively short for a Hardy novel, and plot is emphasized at the expense of depth of character. Although I found the theme of astronomy to seem now somewhat trite, and the ending weak, the sense of place is as strong here as elsewhere in Hardy's Wessex; I certainly found the novel to be an absorbing and satisfying read despite the flaws.

[dirkjohnson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hardy, of course, needs no review. But Michael Kitchen deserves credit for his fine reading of this tale.