Contents
Thomas Hardy
Writing Tess of the d’Urbervilles and novels set in a changing rural Wessex.
Far from the Madding Crowd · Tess of the d’Urbervilles
- Born
- 2 June 1840
- Birthplace
- Higher Bockhampton, England
- Died
- 11 January 1928
More people
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet whose characters struggle against social conventions, chance and desire. The landscapes of Dorset became part of the fictional Wessex in which much of his work unfolds.
Early life
Rural household
His father was a builder and musician; his mother encouraged reading.
Architectural training
Was apprenticed to a Dorchester architect at sixteen.
Career
- 1860s
Architecture
Worked in London and Dorset while developing his writing.
- 1870s–1890s
Novelist
Built a career in serialised and book-length fiction.
- 1890s onwards
Poetry
Concentrated increasingly on verse after controversy over his later novels.
Selected work
Far from the Madding Crowd
A rural story of work, courtship and independence.
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Exposes the consequences of sexual double standards.
Jude the Obscure
Follows frustrated ambitions in education and relationships.
Beyond work
Family
Married Emma Gifford and, after her death, Florence Dugdale.
Animal welfare
Spoke against cruelty to animals.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Bain News Service, publisher. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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