Thomas Hardy OM
(1840-1928)

Died aged 87

Thomas Hardy OM (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 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. Many of his novels concern tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances, and they are often set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex; initially based on the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Hardy's Wessex eventually came to include the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire and much of Berkshire, in southwest and south central England. Two of his novels, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd, were listed in the top 50 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

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Commemorated on 9 plaques

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), poet & novelist, lived here 1878-1881.

172 Trinity Road, Tooting, SW17 Wandsworth, London, United Kingdom where they lived (1878-1881)

This house is reputed to have been lived in by the Mayor of Casterbridge in Thomas Hardy's story of that name written in 1885

Barclays, 10 South Street, Dorchester, United Kingdom where they wrote the Mayor of Casterbridge based on this house (1885)

Thomas Hardy 1840-1928 poet & author lived here 1863-1874

16 Westbourne Park Villas, W2, London, United Kingdom where they was (1863-1874)

Thomas Hardy. O.M. Poet and novelist. (Born at Bockhampton 2 June 1840, died at Max Gate, Dorchester, 11 January 1928.) worked here 1856-1862 as pupil to John Hicks, architect

The Gorge Cafe, 39 South Street, Dorchester, United Kingdom where they worked (1856-1862)

Reference to St Thomas' Church is made by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) in his novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, first published in 1891

St Thomas's Centre, 20 Southgate Street, Winchester, United Kingdom where they makes a reference to St Thomas's Church in his novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)

Thomas Hardy lived here 1881 - 1883

16 Avenue Road, Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom where they lived (1881-1883)

Thomas Hardy 1840-1928 Novelist & Poet Lived by this site 1874-1875

15 Hook Road, Surbiton, London, United Kingdom where they lived near (1874-1875)

Thomas Hardy, O.M. was born in the adjacent cottage and in it wrote "Under the Greenwood Tree" and "Far from the Madding Crowd" This monument is erected to his memory by a few of his American admirers 1931

Higher Bockhampton, Dorchester, United Kingdom where they was

The Chequers Hotel. The Chequers Hotel is featured in Thomas Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure" [full inscription unknown]

The Chequers Hotel, Newbury, United Kingdom where they wrote about