Thomas Hardy

In 1870, while on an architectural mission to restore the parish church of St Juliot in Cornwall that Thomas Hardy met Emma Lavinia Gifford, sister-in-law of the rector. A vivacious girl, she instantly caught the attention of Hardy who fell in love with her. In 1874, after a long courtship, the duo married in Kensington.

In 1885, Thomas and Emma moved to Max Gate. Early on, she assisted him in his literary endeavours but later on the couple separated. Despite being estranged for more than twenty years, Emma’s death in 1912 caused a deep traumatic effect on Hardy’s mind.

Two years after Emma’s death, Hardy married his secretary, Florence Emily Dugdale, in 1914. She was 39 years his junior. However, he never fully recovered from the death of his first wife and continued to proclaim his devotion to her through his works.

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, England, to Thomas and Jemima Hardy. His father worked as a stonemason and local builder while his mother was a homemaker.

Young Hardy was educated by his mother until he was eight years old. He then gained admission at Mr. Last's Academy for Young Gentlemen where he learned Latin. Though he showed great potential academically, the family’s lack of financial means led to the end of his studies at the age of sixteen.

Following his education, Thomas Hardy apprenticed under James Hicks, a local architect. In 1862, he moved to London where he enrolled at King’s College.Simultaneously, he joined Arthur Blomfield's practice as assistant architect.

Under Blomfield, he worked on All Saints' parish church in Windsor, Berkshire,from 1862 to 1864. During this timehe also won several prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association.

Hardy was never at peace in London, well aware of the class division prevalent in the London society. It was while working as an assistant architect that he became interested in social reform.

After spending about five years in London, he returned to Dorset in 1867. He turned to his passion for writing, not forsaking architectural work completely. Hardy penned his first novel, ‘The Poor Man and the Lady’the same year. The book failed to find a publisher as it was politically controversial. It was never published.

Abandoning his first novel, he then penned two more novels, ‘Desperate Remedies’ in 1871 and ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ in 1872. Both the books were published anonymously.

Though Thomas Hardy began his literary career in 1867, his best work came in 1874 with the novel ‘Far from the Madding Crowd.’Though his last two novels, ‘Tess of the d'Urbervilles’ and ‘Jude the Obscure’, received negative criticism at the time of their publication, they are today counted amongst his finest novels.

From 1898, Hardy began his tryst with publishing poetry. His poetry collection, ‘Satires of Circumstance’ included some of his most famous poems such as ‘After a Journey’ and ‘The Voice’ that took him to the greatest heights of his poetic career. Till date, they are considered as some of the finest English poems ever written on the theme of death.