The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing

An ambush on Christmas Eve does not end well for the perpetrators. (1877) Read by Richard Mitchley.

These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.

Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies

Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.