Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

Welcome to "Works of Thomas Hardy" Whether you're a new member or have been here for a while, please tell us a little about yourself here, so we can get to know you :)

I'm Jean, your moderator, and I love all sorts of reading - obviously including Thomas Hardy! I first discovered him at school, studied two of his novels for exams and was smitten, reading 3 or 4 more straightaway. I live in the South of England, and am lucky enough to spend a few weeks or months every year near Dorchester, Dorset, in Thomas Hardy country :)

As well as books, I love animals and nature, Art and Music. My favourite author is Charles Dickens. I am married and used to teach in inner city schools. We've had lots of pets, and at the moment are training our new rescue dog, a Carpathian shepherd dog-cum-husky type, who arrived here just over a year ago from Romania.

How about you?

Hi! I’m Ashley. I grew up in Southern California near the coast/beach and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah (all USA) about 14 years ago. I’m married with 3 kids ages 10, 8, and 3.

We homeschool and read a lot. I love classics, but wasn’t impressed with the 2 Hardy I read earlier this year. I want to try again, though! I read all of Dickens’ works last year and miss him. Not much I’ve read compares! That means I have been light on the classics the past few months and I want to get back to my routine if lots of classics!

Thank you for your invitation, Jean. I live in London, UK. Years ago many of my summer holidays were in Dorset. Reading books by Thomas Hardy reminds me of those holidays & the beautiful countryside.

Hello! My name is Lorena, and I am a PhD student in the US although I am originally from Mexico. My favorite author is Charles Dickens (Great Expectations), and I have been enjoying reading some more classic recently. I have never read anything by Hardy so I am looking forward to learning about his life and writings. Apart from reading, I enjoy jigsaw puzzles, playing tennis, and cooking. :D

My name is Rosemarie and I live in Toronto. I am a giant fan of Hardy's works and have read many of them at least once and a fair number twice.

Hello! I´m Michaela, from Vienna/Austria, did theatre and media studies, but not working (besides household) atm. My husband just retired and our two grown-up daughters moved out a couple of years ago. Besides reading (Classics, Golden Age Crime, Women and Diversity and everything historical) I enjoy singing and playing the piano, photography, visiting museums, languages etc. and also walking and swimming :)

Thanks for the invitation Jean; and hello to all!
I’m retired, living in Ottawa. My reading interests range from literary fiction to historical works to noir to classics — and almost anything between. I read a lot of poetry and my favorite poets occupy a goodly portion of my bookshelves. I especially enjoy books that take me away to a very different place and time and make that experience real. I try to connect with people on Goodreads who have something interesting to say about the books they read, whether their views coincide with mine or not.

I am Daniela, I live in Florence, Italy, and I teach math and science. I mostly like English literature of the last two centuries. I have read Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Two on a Tower, The Trumpet-Major and Under the Greenwood Tree and I am ready to ready more Hardy's books. :)

Thanks kindly for the invitation, Jean! You are a devoted reader, I must say- being the moderator of the Dickensians and now Thomas Hardy. I appreciate all your time and effort:)
My name is Antoinette. I live in Calgary, Alberta. Retired 9 months ago and loving it. As most people here, I am a life long reader. As a teenager, I read only classics. Moved away from them as an adult and am pleased to say I returned to them about 12 years ago, when I started an in person classics group. Besides reading and travelling with my husband, I keep busy with my dog Charlie. Best way to stay active -walking my dog. I have only read 2 of Hardy’s books- Tess of d’Ubervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge and am very keen to read more with this group.

I just joined your group. I really love Thomas Hardy books. So far I have read Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Return of the Native, Jude the Obscure, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters, and The Woodlanders.

My favorite book so far is The Mayor of Casterbridge. I read it as an allegory of America (which I believe it is) and The East India Company. It was very revealing.

I have not read his poetry. I feel I am new to poetry appreciation and would like help to fully appreciate his poems. Looking forward to reading more of Thomas Hardy.

About me, I am retired and I travel full time in our 1961 Silver Streak. I have a lot of time for reading and thinking deeply about books.

I am married 36 years with three grown children. We Unschooled them all from birth. I wanted to homeschool since I was 17. I got married with that in mind.

I like to knit, weave, spin, needlework and draw. I enjoy listening to books on audible.

Edited:
After reading some all the members post so far, I would like to add a little more.

I was a child that hated school and was not a life long reader. I did have an opportunity to be befriended by a very cultured family and decided that I wanted a family like that. They were well read. Compared different people to ones they had experienced in stories. They had traveled and knew more than one language. They had a family culture. They inspired me not to just be someone that people would mistake for someone well read but to improve my reading skills.

It was hard row to hoe, as I prided myself on getting through school with out reading an assigned book. I got the book Nicholas & Alexandria to read. I was very interested in the character Rasputin. I found it slow going and the language was definitely a barrier. Eventually I broke the code of reading and found that after a 100 pages or so the writing is very similar with similar vocabular and style.

I decided to read classics because I looked on schools as a platform for propaganda. So I wanted to read something that would prove that point. I figured that universally classics are assigned across all schools, so I would start there. I started with The Lord of the Flies. A book that was assigned in high school, but which I was not drawn to at all because of the word 'lord' and it felt sacrilege. After reading it I was amazed at what I had been missing. But when I read the reviews of the book I was not in agreement with them at all. Seeing the book confirmed what I thought about school. That those that are raised in an institution will need an institution to manage them.

I think that it is important to model learning. My favorite teacher (yes, I do have one!) is John Taylor Gatto who wrote Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.

I look forward to discussing Thomas Hardy 's books and learning more about him and how he influenced his culture and time.

I am Robin. I identify with Sara who talked about the "so many books, so little time". As a retiree, I have more time to read but still an endless TBR and stash of printed books, ebooks and audiobooks. And most classics are available free through ereaders.

Jean is an amazing leader. I have been so impressed with her work in the Dickens group.

I see I already am GR friends with at least 6 of you!

Hi all. I just joined, because Jean sent me an invite.
I obviously read Tess, and apparently I read Under the Greenwood Tree according to goodreads, although I do not remember reading it. I never read anything else of Thomas Hardy. I have experienced reading (to me at least) 'new' classic novels is way more fun when one can discuss those with others, so I jumped at the chance.

I am Karen, originally from Georgia/Florida, but now in my sixties and living in New England. I live for books and book talk, but am very bad at group participation. Looking forward to re-reading Jude the Obscure and all of Thomas Hardy.

Interestingly, although my three children are grown now, I too unschooled/homeschooled for many years.

Welcome all! I'm sorry not to name you individually, but I'm staggered at how many people have joined in the past few hours (exactly 50!) I'm over the moon and so excited about this group :)

It's lovely to read your introductions. Even some good friends are surprising me here, and it's great to meet new enthusiasts of Thomas Hardy!

Hello! I’m Lori and am thankful to Jean for the invite to this group. I live in the Dallas, Texas area. I only just read my first Hardy last year, Tess, and this year read Far from the Madding Crowd and loved both of them. I spend most days reading and cooking for my husband and myself. Our two boys are now adulting on their own and one will get married next year. The other wants to rescue a retired greyhound if he can find one. Now we only have our dog, Enzo, to keep us entertained!

I know how much Jean puts into her groups and know this will be another great group for participation. Looking forward to reading with many of you!

Hi everyone! I'm Erich and have been a member of this group for a while, just waiting for someone like Jean to get things rolling...

I've read most of Thomas Hardy's novels at least once, and I always enjoy it. I haven't read much of his poetry, though, and I have the complete poems so love the idea of a weekly poem!

I'm excited to participate with all of you!

Hi all! I’m Fiona. I live in Scotland. I read most of Hardy’s novels in my teens and early 20s but that’s a long time ago now and I’ve read practically nothing since. Thanks for the invitation to join the group, Jean. Revisiting Hardy is long overdue in my case. I’m particularly attracted to the idea of reading his poetry together. I have the complete works on my bookshelf so this is a great opportunity to revisit and get to know his poetry better. I’m looking forward to it very much. I’m not sure if I’ll reread Tess but I’ll decide nearer the time.

Thanks for the invitation Jean!

Hi Everyone! I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area. I've previously lived in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey and the Oxfordshire area of the UK.

I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles in high school, but no other Thomas Hardy since then.

Excited to participate with this group!

Hello everyone! I'm Alannah. I live in Northern Ireland (or Ireland if you prefer). I started reading Thomas Hardy during university alongside Charles Dickens and George Eliot. However, I don't think I have read much of Hardy's works rather than Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure.
Thank you for the invitation to this group Jean, I will definitely use this opportunity to try reading more.

I’m Kim. I love reading classics but haven’t read much by Hardy. My last one was Far From the Madding Crowd (7 years ago) and before that Tess of the D’Urbervilles (in high school). I’m very curious about his poetry and look forward to the opportunity to read and discuss some of his other works. Like Sara, I’m afraid I will run out of time before I can read everything I’d like. I recently reviewed my TBR and ruthlessly eliminated over 400 titles, and still there are too many. It will be a happy day when I can retire and devote as much time as I want to reading.

Thank you for the invitation, Jean! My name is Rochelle. I live in the southern part of the US. I hope no one minds I mostly listen to books as I work a lot and my commute is quite far. I would love to learn more about the works of Thomas Hardy. I enjoy nearly every genre, but must admit I do not remember what I've read of his work. I very much look forward to being part of this group. Jean's enthusiasm is inspiring.

Thank you for the invite, Jean! Hi everyone! I'm Carolien. I'm South African and has lived in Johannesburg for most of my life, but we relocated to the Chester in the UK a month ago for my new job. I'm a banker, these days mainly involved in sustainable finance. I have two daughters, nearly 15 and turned 13 last weekend. Both of them are readers and my youngest at least adds to my reading pile quite often (the oldest reads hardcore sci-fi which I rarely do). I read across genres and try to read across geographies as well.

My only foray into Hardy was Tess which I abandoned halfway through, to I am hoping that reading with a group will improve my understanding and ability to read his books.

Thanks for the invitation, Jean. I’m Sue and I live just outside Boston Mass in the US. I first read Hardy while in college many years ago. My favorite then was Return of the Native. Fast forward to my days here reading with friends at Goodreads, my favorite Hardy book has been The Mayor of Casterbridge. I do enjoy reading these classics again (or for the first time) now that I’m older. They often feel like completely different books than what I read before.

Greetings. My name is John and I am a retired person from New Jersey who now lives in North Carolina. I majored in English at a small, private college in New Jersey many years ago and first encountered Thomas Hardy there. I remember watching the movie Tess while in college at the weekly Friday movie night.

Although the novels are great, I look forward to participating mostly in the poetry discussions here. Hardy has such a huge and magnificent canon of poetical works that literally a lifetime of study of it can be enjoyed.

Jean, thanks for the invitation! I'm glad to join in order to support the re-launch of a worthwhile group, though I don't expect to comment very often or join in any group reads. (Though I might put in my "two cents worth" on those discussions, since I've already read all of Hardy's major novels, several of his short stories, and a few of his poems.) There are Victorian-era writers I like better than Hardy; but in the main I do like his work, and still officially count him as a favorite writer (though that feature is going away on Sept. 1).

Thanks everyone, for announcing yourselves, and I'd love to hear from others - whether you join today - or have been here a lot time :)

Hopefully this is group where you can just join in now and then if you feel overloaded with groups. Our weekly poem has just started, with an all-time favourite, and I think everyone has time to "stand and stare" for a moment if they like ... Ooops that's another poet ;)

(view spoiler)[“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
W.H. Davies (hide spoiler)]

It's just less than 24 hours since I alerted anyone to the relaunch, and during that time 58 people have joined the group! That's more than half the original contingent, which is staggering. It makes me feel very humble and grateful - and excited for everything that is to come :)

I live in NE Scotland, and was first introduced, via The Mayor of Casterbridge, to our man in my final year of school in 1974-75, by the inspirational Head of English John (Jake) Arnaud. At university, my final year tutor was Prof Ron Draper, a reowned scholar of Hardy and DH Lawrence who offered further inspiration, and the insight that Hardy’s During Wind And Rain captures much of his ethos, and the ‘blighted star’ (Tess) viewpoint he frequently takes in his novels.

On holiday in Dorset in 2014, we visited Stinsford, Bockhampton and Egdon Heath, and at Bockhampton, I looked at the copy of the collected poems in the cottage. One of the guides asked me which was my favourite, and I was asked to read During Wind And Rain to her in that quite emotional setting.

Thank you for kick-starting the group again.

Hello David, nice to meet you and I'm so pleased you've had the chance to visit "Hardy Country" :) I'm kicking myself for having left some of my books about him there; it seemed logical at the time :D

Anyway, my planning radar is up, and how would you like to lead "During Wind And Rain" for our weekly poem, the third week in August? John will lead one next week hopefully, so if that's your favourite, it would be perfect :) Then we just need one more.

Hello Jean - I am Chris a semi retired doctor in the UK. Silly as it may sound it is with a bit of trepidation that I've accepted your invitation to join this group. I read quite a bit of Hardy about 30 years ago and loved it until I read Jude the Obscure which is truly the saddest book I have ever read and it affected me deeply, and still does. I've not had the courage to read any Hardy since and have instead immersed myself in other authors especially Orwell.
However, now is the time to reacquaint myself with Mr Hardy. So thank you and I look forward to casting out some demons as he is a wonderful author and I feel I have missed something by not reading more of his work!

Thanks for the invite, Jean! I'm Laurel, a librarian in Carver County, Minnesota. I run 4 library book clubs, and I'm also in a church book club, so I'm unlikely to participate in group reads, but I do like reading chit chat about books. I'm a RL friend of Robin (waving) though she's moved a state away. I am not as well read in the classics as I should be, and have never read any Thomas Hardy. I do hope to remedy that "some day." Right now I am rereading Moby-Dick or, the Whale, and next month I will be reading The Grapes of Wrath with one of my book clubs. It's been a hard year for reading for me and I'll be house hunting in the near future. I can't wait to be retired, so I have more time to read, but that probably won't be for a couple of years yet.

Hello everyone! I see a lot of familiar faces here and new ones. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

I am retired and live on the West Coast of Canada. As a retiree, I'm working on a number of hobbies that I didn't have much or any time for while working. It's a real pleasure to be able to spend time on them. Besides reading, I garden, knit, jog and walk, carve wood figures and dabble in some painting (mostly the wood figurines).

I read a fair amount of Hardy way back in my 20s but honestly don't recall much about the stories. I do remember liking his writing, though, so I'm excited about reading some of his works now. I'm currently reading The Woodlanders, truly a coincidence to this group's reopening.

I'm looking forward to the discussions here.

Thanks, Jean, for the invite.

Welcome Chris, Laurel and Petra. I'm so pleased to see you all here :)

Chris - I completely understand your feelings about Jude - and yet I think it is probably his greatest work. Many critics say that of Tess of the D'Urbervilles though, which we'll start reading in September.

Thomas Hardy isn't known for his optimism ... but Jude is definitely the one which hits the hardest. If you join in with the weekly poem, you might like that way in :)

Laurel - You may have time for this too!

Petra - That's an amazing coincidence!

Hi everyone! I'm Kathleen, and I have absolutely NO business joining another Goodreads group, but here I am because Bionic Jean + Thomas Hardy = I couldn't resist. :-)

I am a Hardy newbie--have only read Jude the Obscure, and fairly recently, but that one book made me a fan and I look forward to reading them all. I doubt if I'll be able to keep up with the group, but will enjoy peeking in at the discussions, and of course the poetry (what a great idea!).

Hi Jean, thanks for the invite! Funnily enough, I took my copy of Hardy's short stories on a recent, overdue trip to the UK to visit family. We stopped to see a cousin in Dorset, so it seemed apt. I recalled reading A Changed Man in the past, but the other stories feel new to me. Of his novels, I've only read Far from the Madding Crowd. I confess I've avoided the tragic ones -- hopefully that's not all of them ;) I also hope you'll be doing some of his short stories in future.

I'm back home on the West Coast of Canada now, where I'm currently doing some academic history writing. The Victorian era is my favourite for both reading and writing.

Hello. I read the entire works of Thomas Hardy while holding my fussy baby. She us 13 now! Homeschooled always. I have continued to adore Thomas Hardy and reread several Hardy novels in recent years (The Woodlanders, Return of the Native). I keep a book of Thomas Hardy poetry on my bedside table.

I devour Victorian era writers - but Hardy is a favorite.

Hi Jean, and everyone! Thanks for the invite. After several years of some horrible stuff going on in my life I’m hoping to be able to get things on track and participate in the group reads.

I’m retired and live in Adelaide, Australia. I have just sold my home of 31 years and am busy packing and wondering how I could possibly have accumulated so much stuff.

I haven’t read any Hardy for about 40 years I suppose. I’m looking forward to it.

Hi I'm Laura,

I live in Edinburgh in Scotland and have just (re) discovered Hardy this year.
I love the Classics and having read Far From the Madding Crowd over 20 years ago I'm currently working through Hardy's works with a group on instagram this year.
Hopefully our timetables will connect at some point but I'll be interested to see everyone's thoughts as we read through.

Hi Kathleen, Vanessa, Susan, Tera and Laura.

What great and diverse reasons you all have for joining (Kathleen, you are so sweet :) ) - I love it! And I keep rereading the earlier introductions, to make sure I know who's here!

I'm recognising the "I don't have time for this, but couldn't resist it" bit all too well! What on earth made me take this on, when I already moderate 4 very lively groups and am a contributing member of a couple of others? I don't have unlimited energy!

Well the simple answer is "Because it was there!" I dearly love Thomas Hardy's writing, had a look to see if any group specialised in him, and found this one. I kept an eye on it for a few months, but nothing doing. I can't stand to see such lovely potential dwindling away, so here we all are now, with lots of enthusiasm and raring to go, with 73 new members over 2 days! :)

Hello all! Thank you for the invitation, Jean. My name is Brenda and I live in South Florida in the USA. My interests are cooking, gardening, walking, swimming, photography, and of course reading. I would get in trouble as a child for reading (Brenda, put that book down!); my parents always wanted me to be doing something useful. Now as an adult (a grandmother no less), I glory in reading and finding new books and authors. I am grateful for my GR friends who have broadened my horizons and so often paved the way for my reading journey. You would never tell me to put down a book. 😊 So how could I resist this invitation? Even though my life is CHAOS right now I will join this group and hope to be able to participate. (Looking back, I don’t think I’ve read any Thomas Hardy. 😱).

Thank you for the relaunch of this group and for inviting me to join.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of my all time favorite books, sad though it is, and I've reread it now and then over the years. And there are now many years that have gone by!
I look forward to re-visiting old favorites and reading the few Hardys I missed.

Hello, my name is Erin and I'm about to begin my Junior year of college studying Literature. I just got engaged to my lovely fiancé and we're going to get married at the beginning of May next year :)

I've been through a lot of mental health issues/busyness the last couple years and I'm really just getting back into reading for enjoyment. I love the classics a lot and am very interested in Hardy. I've read The Mayor of Casterbridge before and I'm excited to read more of his works.

Hi and welcome Brenda, Diane and Erin!

I love the fact that even here with three friends we have someone who has never read Thomas Hardy, someone who counts him as one of her favourites and someone who want to read more - what a fantastic spectrum, and what great discussions we will have!

"Brenda, put that book down!" LOL! I always use to have my nose in a book as a child too. There are some things which are decidedly better as an adult e.g. the choice to read :)

Diane - We'll certainly do both of those, starting with your favourite (and one of mine too).

Erin - Congratulations! And here's to a wonderful future. Good choice in joining us. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is definitely a good one to read after The Mayor of Casterbridge :)

Hello. My name is Natalie and I am ponderously old.

So old, in fact, that when I read "Tess" at age 14 I wept and wept for her but felt that Angel was well justified. That was how my teachers rolled back then: they would assign brilliant work by Hardy, Faulkner, Melville, James, Twain, etc and then scold the characters in our classroom work.

I continued to read all of his major novels and reread most of them when I was in my 50's.

I've been reading and loving the poetry all along.

Hi Natalie - Welcome - it's great to see you here and learn that you are such a fan of Thomas Hardy!

LOL "ponderously" - I love that word in your context. It implies wisdom and hidden depths.

I'd better not comment on Tess, as we're reading it shortly :)

Hi All & thank you to Jean for the invitation
I'm Andrea and I live in Derbyshire in the UK. I have loved Hardy's writing since I discovered his novels in my early 20's. I still work full-time (and more!) and my "reading" is via audiobooks, either when I'm driving or doing chores at home.
I will re-read a Hardy novel every couple of years and they are always as good or better than I remember and I especially love the beauty and elegance of his language. He can convey so much imagery and meaning in relatively few words. (I'm also a Trollope fan for that same reason).
I often find poetry (generally) challenging and possibly above my intellect, but I am open to being convinced.
I spent a week last year in Wessex on holiday and enjoyed visiting Dorchester and the Hardy exhibition in the museum there.
I'm looking to being part of the group.

Hi Andrea, and it's lovely to "meet" you properly :) You certainly live in a beautiful part of the country! I was born and brought up in South Yorkshire, so you can guess that we went to the Peak District as often as we could, to the beauty spots there. And Chatsworth, of course.

I'm so glad you're such a fan of Thomas Hardy, and look forward to your posts :)

Hi everyone! Jean, thanks so much for the invite! My name is Rowena and I live in Vancouver, BC. Definitely a Hardy fan despite having only read a couple of his books (they always break my heart) and some of his poems. I have a stack of Hardy books I've bought at library book sales and thrift shops and I'm sure this group will motivate me to finally read them!

Hi Rowena and I'm absolutely delighted that you've joined! I'm sure you'll enjoy those books - heartbreaking though they can be :)

Hi I'm Steve and I live with my wife and 13 year old daughter in Lancaster, a small historic city in the North of England. I work full time (sadly) and invariably am quite busy but try and read as much as I can! I've only read one of Hardy's novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge and really enjoyed it. I've also read and liked a few of his short stories, but none of his poems. I'm keen to read more Hardy and want to read some more poetry too, so this definitely works for me. Thanks for the invite Jean!

Hi All and thanks, Jean, for your invitation!
I'm April, a Hardy fan from Detroit, MI (although I'm more familiar with his novels than his poetry). I look forward to reading with and getting to know you all!