A Laodicean

I’ll admit: I approached *A Laodicean* expecting Hardy-lite—a lesser work sandwiched between his tragedies. I was wrong. This is Hardy at his most *funny*, in that dark, exasperated way that makes you snort-laugh on the subway. The plot—Paula’s inheritance of De Stancy Castle and the circus of men vying to "help" her modernize it—is a Trojan horse for Hardy’s skewering of Victorian hypocrisy. The audiobook’s strength lies in Chafer’s narration, which resists the temptation to over-embroider Hardy’s prose. His reading is almost austere, letting the dialogue’s barbs land naturally. When the radical Hare quips about "the rights of man" while eyeing Paula’s fortune, Chafer’s deadpan makes it *sing*. That said, this isn’t a flawless listen. The subplot involving Paula’s father’s will drags, and Hardy’s digressions on architecture (while fascinating) can feel like a lecture when you’re commuting. The romance, too, is deliberately unsatisfying—Paula’s indecision isn’t coy; it’s a critique of how few good options women had. Some listeners might chafe at the lack of a cathartic payoff, but that’s the point: Hardy’s exposing the rot beneath the veneer of progress. The production quality is impeccable—no distracting edits or volume shifts—though at 14+ hours, it demands patience. If you’re here for Hardy’s lyricism, try *The Mayor of Casterbridge* instead. But if you want to hear a genius dismantle the myths of his era with a straight face? Chafer’s performance makes this a standout.