Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet. In novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, set in the imaginary region of Wessex, he portrayed rural life and the struggles of individuals against fate and society. In later life he devoted himself to poetry.
Genres
novels and stories, poetry
Works
Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Darkling Thrush
From Dorset to London
Hardy was born in 1840 at Higher Bockhampton, in Dorset, the son of a stonemason. He trained as an architect and worked for several years in London, restoring churches.
He began writing novels in the late 1860s, and his first success, Far from the Madding Crowd, appeared in 1874.
Wessex
Hardy set his fiction in Wessex, a name taken from an old Anglo-Saxon kingdom, which corresponds roughly to Dorset and the neighbouring counties.
His novels describe farms, markets and villages in great detail, and show the changes brought by railways and new ways of farming.
From novels to poetry
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895) shocked many readers with their frankness and their criticism of social conventions.
After the attacks on Jude, Hardy stopped writing novels and published only poetry, including the poems on the death of his first wife, Emma, considered among his finest.
Anecdotes
His heart in Dorset
When Hardy died in 1928, his ashes were placed in Westminster Abbey, but his heart was buried in the churchyard of Stinsford, in Dorset, beside his first wife.
Max Gate
Hardy designed his own house, Max Gate, near Dorchester, where he lived from 1885 until his death.
Frequently asked questions
What is Wessex?
The imaginary region of south-west England where Hardy set his novels.
Which novel was his first great success?
Far from the Madding Crowd, in 1874.
Why did he stop writing novels?
After the hostile reception of Jude the Obscure in 1895, he turned to poetry.