Under the Greenwood Tree; Or, The Mellstock Quire / A Rural Painting of the Dutch School

A gently comic rural narrative follows a parish's west-gallery choir and the people connected with it across seasons, tracing village customs, musical gatherings, and everyday rituals. The arrival of a young schoolmistress and the attentions of a local young musician prompt courtship, disputes, and a reassessment of loyalties as the community confronts technological and clerical changes that threaten the traditional band. Episodes of festivity, work, and solitude illustrate themes of tradition versus modernization, communal identity, and the consolations of music, while pastoral description and modest humor shape a portrait of provincial life.