Thomas Hardy was born in Upper Bockhampton, Dorset, on June 2, 1840. Hardy began school at the age of eight because of his poor health. He attended school for only eight years. At the age of 16, Hardy was apprenticed to a Dorchester architect. At the age of 22 he began to work for Arthur Blomfield, an architect in London.
While he was not working, Hardy began to compose poetry.
In 1865 Chambers's Journal published Hardy's prose scetch, How I built Myself
a House. Hardy's poetry wasn't successful, and so he began to write prose fiction.
The Poor Man and the Lady was the his attempt to a satirical novel.
It was never published. In 1871 Hardy wrote Desperate Remedies, detective story,
and had it published anonymously. In 1872 he wroteUnder the Greenwood
Tree, and this too was a failure.
A Pair of Blue Eyes was published in 1873. American
publishers published this book, and Hardy got a great response from the Americans.
In 1874 Hardy published Far from the Madding Croud. This was his biggest success
yet. When Hardy saw that he beginning to be well-know he gave up his job as an architect,
married Emma Lovinia Gifford, and discontinued anonymous publication.
Hardy wrote ten novels in the following 20 years. Hardy and
his wife resided in many places in southern England, and after ten years they finally settled
on the outskirts of Dorchester in Max Gate. In 1910 Hardy was awarded the
Order of Merit. His wife Emma died in 1912, and in 1914 Hardy remarried to Florence Emily Dugdale.
Thomas Hardy died January 11, 1928 at Max Gate. He was buried in Poet's Corner,
Westminster Abbey. His heart was buried in the grave of his first wife in the Stinsford churchyard.
Visit the works of Thomas Hardy from 1875-1908
