# Ned Hipcroft — Short Fiction character guide

> Ned Hipcroft in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Edward, Ned, Hipcroft, Ned gaily

**First appearance:** 0179-enter-a-dragoon

## Snapshot

A soldier returning home to a village that has moved on without him, carrying news he does not yet know.

## Who they are

Ned Hipcroft comes back to the familiar ground of Egdon and its neighbouring households, expecting to resume a life interrupted by service. What he finds instead is a community rearranged by time, gossip, and other people's choices, and a welcome that is not quite the one he imagined. His return is the story's quiet detonator, turning private expectation into public reckoning.

## In the story

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/xvii)

Not present in this chapter.

### [The Fiddler of the Reels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/the-fiddler-of-the-reels)

Car'line's husband, who seeks employment near Stickleford and later becomes distraught over the loss of his daughter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/ned_hipcroft
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters