In "The Secrets of Suspense" (The New Yorker, 27 May 2024), Kathryn Schulz mentions the origin of the word "cliffhanger" in Thomas Hardy's novel "A Pair of Blue Eyes" (1873), in which Henry Knight hangs on a cliff until his love interest Elfride Swancourt is able to rescue him. Schulz then adds, "I cannot in good conscience recommend 'A Pair of Blue Eyes' [...]". But then she admits that "the scene on the cliff is a tiny, self-contained masterpiece: smart, riveting, and, so to speak, completely over the top." That is what keeps me reading Hardy's novels in chronological order: even his weaker novels are full of such moments of excellence. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 26 August 2024)
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