Under the Greenwood Tree cover art

Under the Greenwood Tree

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Under the Greenwood Tree

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 One of the most popular of Hardy's novels, this charming pastoral idyll is a lightly humorous depiction of life in an early Victorian rural community. Drawn from Hardy's childhood memories, it represents, he said, "a true picture at first hand of the personages, ways, and customs which were common in the villages."

The story delicately balances the concerns of the Mellstock parish choir with a romance between Dick Dewy, a member of the choir, and Fancy Day, the village schoolmistress. While the choir battles for its survival against the new vicar's mechanical church organ, personal conflicts arise over the anachronistic customs of tradition.

Public Domain (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Village Witty

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Trumpet-Major cover art
The Return of the Native cover art
The Woodlanders cover art
Under the Greenwood Tree cover art
Jude The Obscure cover art
The Mayor of Casterbridge cover art
A Pair of Blue Eyes cover art
Far from the Madding Crowd cover art
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm cover art
The Enchanted Collection cover art
The District Doctor and Other Stories cover art
Mother Carey's Chickens cover art
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens cover art
Sir Gibbie cover art
The Pickwick Papers cover art
Adam Bede cover art

Critic reviews

"It bubbles with good humor and joy in living." (James Gibson, Thomas Hardy: A Literary Life)
All stars
Most relevant
This was one of the best readings of a Hardy novel. Simon Vance skilfully distinguishes male and female voices and brings out the nuances of the characters. Hope for more read by him!

Wonderful performance by Simon Vance of a superb book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a novel with a heroine and hero it is rather lacking in pace and storyline. It portends to be a romance with unrequited love and anguish, but doesn’t hit the highs or the lows. The heroine is a flighty silly girl without much substance to her and right up to the end the books leaves me wanting more …. something meaningful. It feels it was written by formula. I certainly won’t listen again.

A bit slow but rich in description

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nothing really happens, so just enjoy the 'walk' the pace is slow but but the scenery rather lovely.

Charming yet dull

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good performance by Simon Vance, as always.

The story itself isn't as striking as some in literature. While it looks ordinary, one don't find it boring but so true and thought-provoking.

Imperfect Characters, But So Real

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a delight! Captivating prose, telling tale, beautifully narrated. A little jewel to be treasured

A little jewel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.