13 h 2 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 2 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
At a quiet Dorset mill, two brothers love the same woman while England waits for Napoleon’s army.
In Thomas Hardy’s The Trumpet-Major, Anne Garland and her widowed mother rent rooms at Overcombe mill, near Weymouth. Soldiers arrive in the district, bringing the threat of invasion close to village life. Among them is John Loveday, the miller’s elder son, a brave cavalry trumpeter quietly devoted to Anne.
John’s younger brother Robert, a charming sailor with a wandering eye, also draws Anne’s attention. So does the boastful Festus Derriman, though his courage rarely matches his talk. As romance tangles with rivalry, Hardy brings warmth and comedy to a countryside on edge, asking what loyalty costs when love offers no certain reward.
What you’ll discover
- A heart pulled between brothers Follow Anne as steady devotion and lively charm compete for her attention.
- Loyalty without a promise Meet John Loveday, whose devotion to family, country, and Anne tests his quiet strength.
- Village life under threat Enter a world of mill rooms, soldiers, sailors, and neighbours waiting for invasion.
- Comedy amid the fear Enjoy Festus Derriman’s bluster as his grand talk exposes the gap between boasting and bravery.
- A warmer side of Hardy Discover a love story where humour and tenderness sit beside jealousy and uncertain hopes.
Who will love it
For readers who love historical romance, gentle village comedy and tales of the Napoleonic wars, with two brothers whose loyalty is tested by one young woman.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Soldiers bring new hopes to Overcombe
- A supper reveals the rivals
- Marriage plans meet a troubling arrival
- A false alarm brings real danger
- John steps aside as Bob sails
- Waiting turns relief into fresh uncertainty
- Loyalty can cost personal happiness
- War reaches the village through waiting
- Quiet sacrifice holds the story together
Who’s who
- Anne GarlandA painter's daughter who lives in a wing of the mill, proud and kind, torn between two brothers while a stubborn yeoman pursues her.
- John LovedayThe trumpet-major of the dragoons, honest and loyal, who loves Anne quietly and puts his brother's happiness before his own.
- Bob LovedayJohn's younger brother, a merchant mate, then a navy man, warm and fickle, who wants Anne but is easily taken by new faces.
- Festus DerrimanA huge, boastful young yeoman who talks of glory, fears real danger, and wants to marry Anne and inherit his uncle's property.
- Miller LovedayThe generous owner of Overcombe Mill, father of John and Bob, who wants his sons settled and courts the widow next door.
- Mrs. Martha GarlandAnne's changeable, kind-hearted mother, who dreams of a rich match for her daughter and is courted by the miller.
- Uncle Benjy DerrimanThe miserly old master of Oxwell Hall, who trembles before his nephew and hides his box of deeds and guineas.
- Matilda JohnsonA fashionable young woman from Southampton who arrives to marry Bob and carries a secret that John recognises at once.
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The Trumpet-Major
by Thomas Hardy · 1880
Two brothers in a Wessex mill love the same girl while Napoleon's army waits across the Channel.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Picture a quiet summer noon in a village on the Wessex coast. A girl sits at a back window, working a hearth rug, when the sheep on the hill behind the mill suddenly scatter.
The Trumpet-Major at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 30 min5 h 55 min fast, 8 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 106,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1880by Thomas Hardy
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A camp of soldiers descends on a village
The story opens with Anne Garland and her widowed mother, Martha, who live in one wing of an old manor house that has become a mill. Their landlord is Miller Loveday, a large, kind man who is half in love with the widow. From the window Anne watches the soldiers arrive, first the markers who measure the ground, then whole columns of horse and foot.
The village treats the invasion of its hill as a holiday. Girls adore, young men dream of enlisting, and the soldiers' wives chatter like starlings. The miller has his own reason to be glad, for one regiment is the dragoons in which his elder son John serves as trumpet-major. John has not been home in five years.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1880
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Hardy, Thomas. The Trumpet-Major. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trumpet-major.
Hardy, T. (2026). The trumpet-major. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trumpet-major (Original work published 1880)
Hardy, Thomas. The Trumpet-Major. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trumpet-major.
@book{hardy2026trumpetmajor,
author = {Hardy, Thomas},
title = {The Trumpet-Major},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trumpet-major},
note = {First published 1880}
}
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What is The Trumpet-Major about?
It follows Anne Garland, a young woman in a Wessex mill village, as soldiers camp nearby in 1804 during the fear of Napoleon's invasion. Two brothers, a trumpet-major and a sailor, both love her, while a boastful yeoman pursues her.
Is The Trumpet-Major based on a true story?
The characters are invented, but the events are drawn from fact. Hardy wrote in his 1895 preface that he used the memories of elderly people, old newspapers and local relics, and the King's stay at the seaside town is historical.
Who is the trumpet-major in the title?
He is John Loveday, the elder son of Miller Loveday. He leads the trumpeters of a dragoon regiment, teaches them the camp calls, and loves Anne Garland quietly while putting his brother Bob's wishes before his own.
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.
More by Thomas Hardy
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