The Complete Novels (eBook)

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet, greatly acclaimed for his portrayal of the rural life and communities of Wessex, a fictional region in the south and southwest of England that was closely based on the counties in which Hardy was born and lived. Hardy's work is distinguished by its profound pessimism, tragic vision, and unflinching exploration of the human struggle against circumstances. His writing is also characterized by rich descriptions of the natural world, which he used to underscore his characters' emotional states and the drama of their lives. Among Hardy's most celebrated novels are 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' and 'Far from the Madding Crowd', works that highlight his gift for creating complex characters and situating them in challenging moral dilemmas. Hardy's final novels, often considered part of 'The Complete Novels' collection, increasingly focused on dramatizing his fatalistic and deterministic views of life, a literary approach that has led to his recognition as a transition figure between Victorian and modernist literature. After 1895, Hardy abandoned novel writing and devoted himself to poetry, producing several volumes that secured his reputation as a significant poet of his time.