THE WELL-BELOVED. ALICIA'S DIARY

To his Well-Beloved he had always been faithful; but she had had many embodiments. Each individuality known as Lucy, Jane, Flora, Evangeline, or whatnot, had been merely a transient condition of her. He did not recognize this as an excuse or as a defence, but as a tact simply. Essentially she was perhaps of no tangible substance; a spirit, a dream, a frenzy, a conception, an aroma, an epitomized sex, a light of the eye, a parting of the lips. God only knew what she really was; Pierston did not. She was indescribable. " This remarkable novel, which explores the essence of inspiration and the nature of an obsession close to madness, was published in 1897, after Tess o f the d'Urbervilles and ]ude the Obscure. And Alicia's Diary a short and exquisite love story.