Thomas Hardy: His Life and Friends

This biography draws from a variety of sources including Hardy's published writings, biographies of Hardy and his contemporaries, correspondence of friends and acquaintances, Emma Hardy's diaries, and unpublished letters between Emma, Thomas and Florence. This biography contains new disclosures and interpretations of evidence, neglecting nothing significant in Hardy's early years, and providing the relevant details of his later life. It draws from a variety of sources including his published writings, biographies of Hardy and his contemporaries, correspondence of friends and acquaintances, Emma Hardy's diaries, and many unpublished letters from her and Florence Hardy. Apart from a brief background introduction to Hardy's friends and how these influenced his career, this book adopts an analysis of Hardy and his literary work and interests. The division between him and Emma is a dominant issue of this analysis. Dr Pinion is the author of "A Jane Austen Companion", "A Commentary on the Poems of Thomas Hardy" and "A Wordsworth Companion".