Thomas Hardy
Sign in to saveEnglish novelist and poet (1840–1928)
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Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet who lived from 1840 to 1928 and is remembered as one of the most important literary figures of his era. His works, which often depicted the lives of rural people and explored themes of fate and human suffering, remain widely read and studied today.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 2 June 1840
- Died
- 11 January 1928
- Works
- 3757
Top works
- Wessex tales
- The oxen
- Poems of the past and present
- The best horror stories
- Unexpected Elegies
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 2,305
- Total plays
- 20,034
Works in European collections
20 objects attributed to Thomas Hardy, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
Article
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the declining status of rural people in Britain such as those from his native South West England.
While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, he gained fame as the author of novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895). During his lifetime, Hardy's poetry was acclaimed by younger poets (particularly the Georgians) who viewed him as a mentor. After his death his poems were lauded by Ezra Pound, W. H. Auden and Philip Larkin.
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Categories
1840 births1928 deaths19th-century English novelists19th-century English poets19th-century English short story writers20th-century English male writers20th-century English poetsAlumni of King's College LondonBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish anti-vivisectionistsEnglish autobiographersEnglish historical novelists