In English literature, the famous novel The Return of the Native was written by which author?

Introduction / Context:
The novel The Return of the Native is one of the important works in English literature and is frequently asked about in competitive exams that test general awareness of famous books and authors. Questions like this help evaluate whether a learner can correctly associate a well known literary work with its creator. Knowing that The Return of the Native was written by Thomas Hardy also helps place the book in the correct literary period and style, namely late nineteenth century English realism and regional fiction set in rural Wessex.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The title of the book given in the question is The Return of the Native.
• The options list four well known authors from world literature.
• We are required to identify which one of these authors wrote this particular novel.
• No additional numerical data or contextual information is needed, because this is a direct facts based general knowledge item.

Concept / Approach:
To answer book and author questions, the core approach is simple factual recall supported by recognition of the time period, language and literary style. Thomas Hardy is a key English novelist and poet known for works such as Tess of the d Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure and The Return of the Native. By contrast, Charles Dickens represents an earlier Victorian phase with novels like Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, William Shakespeare is a Renaissance playwright and poet, and Leo Tolstoy is a Russian novelist known for War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Matching the theme and title of the book with the correct author lets us eliminate distractors confidently.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the question carefully and note that it asks specifically for the author of The Return of the Native. Step 2: Recall major works associated with each option. Thomas Hardy is closely linked with novels about rural Wessex and tragic characters. Step 3: Connect The Return of the Native with Thomas Hardy, remembering that it is set on Egdon Heath and explores fate, passion and social convention. Step 4: Cross check quickly that Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and Leo Tolstoy do not have a novel by this title among their best known works. Step 5: Conclude that Thomas Hardy is the only author whose bibliography and literary style match this specific title.

Verification / Alternative check:
A good way to verify this answer is to think about the cluster of novels written by Thomas Hardy. Many exam takers remember Hardy through a group of titles such as The Mayor of Casterbridge, Far from the Madding Crowd and The Return of the Native, all of which share rural English settings and strong tragic themes. Another cross check is to remember that Dickens wrote serialised novels often set in London, Shakespeare is known for plays rather than novels, and Tolstoy wrote in Russian and focused on very long, expansive novels about Russian society. Since The Return of the Native does not fit into the typical works of these other authors, the identification of Thomas Hardy is further confirmed.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Charles Dickens is a famous English novelist but he did not write The Return of the Native; his major works include David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. William Shakespeare is known primarily for dramatic plays and sonnets, not for nineteenth century English novels, so he cannot be the author of this book. Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist whose major works are War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and he did not write The Return of the Native.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to select Charles Dickens simply because he is another very famous English novelist from the broader Victorian period. Learners sometimes guess by popularity instead of by matching a specific title to its correct author. Another pitfall is general confusion among classic authors, especially when one does not have a mental map of which works belong to which writer. To avoid this, it is helpful to revise authors in clusters, linking Thomas Hardy with his set of regional novels and remembering distinctive settings such as Egdon Heath in The Return of the Native.

Final Answer:
Therefore, the novel The Return of the Native was written by Thomas Hardy.