Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 11 January 1928) was a novelist and poet, generally regarded as one of the greatest figures in English literature.

Born near Dorchester, Dorset[?], Hardy was the son of a stonemason and originally trained as an architect. He draws heavily on this background in his work. His first novel was begun in 1867, but he gave up prose fiction writing after Jude the Obscure (1895), having been heavily criticized for the novel's apparent anti-marriage stance. Other novels include:

• Tess of the D'Urbervilles (filmed, by Roman Polanksi, as Tess),
• The Mayor of Casterbridge[?],
• Return of the Native[?],
• A Pair of Blue Eyes[?],
• The Woodlanders[?],
• Far From the Madding Crowd

Hardy's stories often take place in the fictional county of Wessex, modeled after Dorset.

From 1898, Hardy concentrated on poetry, continuing to publish collections right up until 1928. His last great work, The Dynasts[?], was an epic drama in verse, published between 1904 and 1908. Following the death of his first wife, Emma Gifford, in 1912, after 38 years of marriage, Hardy married Florence Dugdale, and their home at Max Gate in Dorset became a mecca for other writers, such as Siegfried Sassoon and T E Lawrence.

Hardy was active until a few days before his death, entertaining visitors in his usual lively way. His funeral, on 16 January at Westminster Abbey, was a controversial occasion. His family and friends had wished him to be buried at Stinsford[?], but his executor, Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell[?], had insisted he should be placed in Poets' Corner[?]. A compromise was reached, whereby his heart was buried at Stinsford and his ashes were interred in the abbey.

In part because of the influence of Philip Larkin, critical response to Hardy's poetry has gradually thawed, becoming increasingly positive.

External Links

e-texts of Hardy's works:

• A Changed Man (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=351)
• Desperate Remedies (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=506)
• The Dynasts (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=569)
• Far From The Madding Crowd (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=666)
• A Group Of Noble Dames (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=813)
• Jude The Obscure (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1050)
• A Laodicean (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1097)
• Late Lyrics And Earlier (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1104)
• The Mayor of Casterbridge (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1303)
• Moments Of Vision And Miscellaneous Verses (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1361)
• A Pair of Blue Eyes (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1595)
• Poems Of The Past And The Present (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1769)
• Return of the Native (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1997)
• Satires Of Circumstance, lyrics and reveries with miscellaneous pieces (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2065)
• The Trumpet-Major (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2273)
• Two On A Tower (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1525)
• The Well-Beloved (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1752)
• Wessex Poems And Other Verses (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1754)
• Wessex Tales (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1756)
• The Woodlanders (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1896)