14 h 52 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On the Cornish cliffs, love faces more than a dangerous drop: birth, pride and the fear of being judged.
At Endelstow, Elfride Swancourt keeps house for her father, the vicar, with few companions and the sea close by. Then Stephen Smith arrives to survey the church. Gentle and talented, the young architect wins her heart, but his father is a mason—and Mr Swancourt wants a match of higher rank.
Henry Knight, an older London writer, brings a different kind of attraction into Elfride's life. Learned and sure of his judgment, he holds firm ideas about what a woman should be. In Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes, love grows under the pressure of class, reputation and a past Elfride fears revealing.
What you’ll discover
- A spirited young woman Meet Elfride in her kindness and impulsiveness as she longs for love and fears judgment.
- Love across class lines Follow Stephen as talent and ambition meet a father's pride in social rank.
- Peril on the cliffs Feel the danger of the Cornish coast in a scene that binds two lives.
- The weight of reputation Explore how fear of the past can threaten the hope of happiness.
- Tenderness edged with irony Discover a narrator who pauses over nature, time and the follies of ordinary people.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like slow, richly set love stories, rural England and the questions of class that Victorian novels raise. It suits fans of Hardy who want to see where he began. If you want fast action or a cheerful tale, it may feel heavy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A vicar's daughter lives by the sea
- A young architect steals her heart
- A secret flight and a failed elopement
- Stephen goes away to win a fortune
- A learned man arrives from London
- The cliff scene binds two lives together
- Class decides who may love whom
- Love, secrets and the weight of fate
- How Hardy builds his tale
Who’s who
- Elfride SwancourtThe vicar's daughter, spirited and impulsive, who loves two men and fears that her past will cost her the one she most wants to keep.
- Stephen SmithA gentle young architect, the son of a mason, who rises by talent and hopes to win Elfride despite her father's pride.
- Henry KnightA grave London reviewer and writer, once Stephen's teacher, who admires Elfride but holds a rigid ideal of what a woman should be.
- Mr SwancourtElfride's father, the genial and talkative vicar of Endelstow, who values rank and good company and wants a fitting match for his daughter.
- Lord LuxellianThe landowner whose family stands at the top of the local order and whose great house looms over the parish.
- Mrs JethwayA grieving local widow who bears a grudge against Elfride and watches her with a hostility whose cause lies in the past.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 52 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Un par de ojos azules in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Un par de ojos azules
by Thomas Hardy· 1873
A vicar’s daughter faces love divided by class and expectations.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Español
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A vicar's daughter lives by the sea
The story opens at Endelstow, a small parish on the Cornish coast, where Elfride Swancourt keeps house for her father. Mr Swancourt is the vicar. He is hearty, fond of good company, proud of his family name and always aware of money. Elfride's mother is dead, so the girl has grown up half wild, with the cliffs and the church tower for her playground.
Hardy gives her a quick, open nature. She is not a cold beauty. She blushes, laughs, talks too much when she is nervous and plays the piano with feeling. Her eyes are the feature everyone remarks on, and the book takes its title from them. Yet the author is careful to show that she is not simply a pretty face. She has a mind of her own and a streak of daring that will lead her into trouble.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Thomas Hardy
1840–1928 · English novelist and poet
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was an English novelist and poet. He was born in Dorset and lived in Dorset and London. His novels include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), and Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891). He published poetry collections from 1898 until his death.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Thomas Hardy
All 13 books
More like this
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Un par de ojos azules
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is A Pair of Blue Eyes about?
It follows Elfride Swancourt, a Cornish vicar's daughter, and the two men who love her. One is a young man of low birth, the other a learned writer. Class, secrets and chance shape what happens to all three.
Is A Pair of Blue Eyes based on a true story?
It is fiction, but it draws on Hardy's life. He visited St Juliot in Cornwall in 1870 as a young architect and met Emma Gifford there, who became his first wife. The setting and some feelings come from that time.
When was A Pair of Blue Eyes written and published?
Hardy wrote it in the early 1870s. It appeared in monthly parts in a magazine in 1872 and 1873 and then as a book. It was the first of his novels to carry his name.
Popular in classics
See all
