Hardy`s sunniest settle in the village of Mellstock bringing change and disruption to the rural inhabitants.Mr.Maybold,the vicar,is hot and strong on church business,but his plans to incorporate the new-fangled organ cause offence to the old-fashioned ecclesiastical musicians.Fancy Day,the school teacher and a flower among vegetables,has an equally upsetting effect upon the hearts of younger men.Hardy drew on his own childhood experiences to paint this affectionate,unsentimental but often comic portrait of rustic society touched by progress.