The son of a master mason, Thomas Hardy was born in Upper Bockhampton, Dorset. He was apprenticed to an architect in Dorchester when he was 16, and his mother encouraged him to go on studying. His career in letters notwithstanding, Hardy retained an interest in stonework and architecture all his life.
It was his profession as an architect that took him to London in 1862, about the time when he first began to write. In this he received encouragement from his friend, Horace Moule, a university-trained scholar. The friendship was a valuable stimulus to the young Hardy; Moule was eight years his senior and had a classical background. (Moule committed suicide in 1873, believing himself a failure. His death affected Hardy deeply, and some of his characters-notably Jude-have more than a suggestion of his friend in them.)
Hardy stayed in London, about which he had definite reservations, until 1867, reading incessantly, attending performances of Shakespeare and visiting the opera. He went back in Dorset to assist in church restoration and at the same time began to write a novel containing some verse. This, called “The Poor Man and the Lady”, was never published, but comments from one reader, George Meredith for Chapman & Hall, contained good advice and Hardy’s next novel, “Desperate Remedies”, was published in 1871. It was not well received, but “Under the Greenwood Tree” (1872) was also accepted, and did better, being praised for the author’s delicate evocation of Dorset life. “A Pair of Blue Eyes” followed, appearing as a serial in “Tinley’s Magazine” and then in volume form in 1873. J.I.M. Stewart says it “may be regarded as a last apprentice piece” and certainly his next book, “Far from the Madding Crowd” (1874), demonstrated Thomas Hardy’s mastery of his form. He felt assured and successful enough to embark on marriage with Emma Gifford.
His confidence in himself was justified; he was now being asked for his work. “The Hand of Ethalberta”(1876), however, to some