The novel tells the story of the sculptor Jocelyn Pierston's search for the ideal woman, through three generations of a Portland family.

Set on the Isle of Slingers, this novel tells the story of Jocelyn Pierston, a sculptor who falls in love successively with three generations of island women, seeking female perfection, just as he strives to realise the ideal woman in stone ...

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Reproduction of the original.

The scenes of Hardy's novel are located chiefly on "The Isle of Stingers," South Wessex, and the story deals with the emotional experiences of Jocelyn Pierston, a sculptor and native of the isle.

A cottage housing what is now part of Portland Museum, on the Isle of Portland, founded by Marie Stopes, a friend of Hardy and his wife, was an inspiration for the book. The cottage acted as the home of Avice, the novel's heroine.

The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy is a novel that tells the story of the sculptor Jocelyn Pierston's search for the love of his life, the ideal woman, through three generations of a Portland family.

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