Author

=__**Thomas Hardy
 * __=

Thomas Hardy is the famous author of Far From the Madding Crowd, along with other publicated works such as Tess of the d'Ubervilles and the Wessex Poems. He was born on June 2, 1840 in Dorchester, England. His father worked as a stonemason, so the family did not have a lot of money. The fact that they did not have a lot of money drove Hardy's mother to want a good education for her son. The only way she could give him a good education was by encouraging him to read.

The love for books that his mother instilled in him as a child carried over to his adult life. Hardy published his first novel, Desperate Remedies, in 1871. Then three novels later he had succeeded in publishing a book that he could retire on. Hardy published Far From the Madding Crowd in 1874. He quit his job as an architect and focused solely on writing. He ended up publishing more successful novels. Some of his best are said to be Far From the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.

Besides being great at writing novels, Hardy also excelled at writing poetry. In 1898 he published a book of poems that he had written over a thirty year span. He called them the Wessex Poems. His poems were not as popular as well liked as his novels. Hardy was said to have loved his poetry more than his novels. Today, his poetry is much more popular.

Hardy married a girl named Emma Gifford in 1874. They met three years before their marriage in Lonndon while Hardy was there working as an architect. The two ended up drifting apart. In 1914 Hardy got married again, this time to his secretary Florence Dugdale.

Thomas Hardy died on January 11, 1928 at the age of 87 in Dorchester, England. It is said that he wrote his last poem on his death bed. He died from pleurisy. Hardy's funeral was at the Westminster Abbey. His family wanted him to be burried with his first wife Emma while the Abbey wanted him to be burried in the Poets corner. They ended up burrying his heart with his first wife Emma and putting his ashes in the Poets corner.