Thomas Hardy Trivia

1. What is the name of the semi-fictional area in which most of Thomas Hardy's novels are set?

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Wessex

A few of the real-life counties in Hardy's Wessex are Devon, Dorset, and Hampshire. Wessex was an older term for this area which Hardy re-popularized.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: 87

He was born on June 2, 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: 1840

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2nd, 1840 in Higher Bockhampton. His father was a stonemason and his mother was quite educated.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Architect

He was apprenticed to a local architect, John Hicks, from 1856 to 1862. He then moved to London where he worked for Arthur Blomfield until 1867, before returning to Dorset to work for Hicks once again. By 1874 his books earned him so much money, that he could focus entirely on writing. Hardy was a fairly good architect, winning prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Desperate Remedies

"Desperate Remedies" (1871) and "Under the Greenwood Tree" (1872) were published anonymously. "The Poor Man and the Lady" was written in 1867 but it was never published and the manuscript was lost.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Emma Gifford

Bathsheba Everdene was the heroine in "Far From the Madding Crowd", Eustacia Vye was a character in "The Return of the Native" and Grace Melbury is the main character in "The Woodlanders". Emma Gifford was born, like Hardy, in 1840 and she died in 1912.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Max Gate

Max Gate is owned by the National Trust, a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The house was of Hardy's own design and he lived in it for over forty years.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Mason

Thomas Hardy Sr. (d. 1892) was a builder and master mason, and also an able violin player.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was established by Edward VII in 1902. Another notable O.M. was Florence Nightingale who was the first woman to receive the honor.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Aberdeen

Although already a famous author for thirty years at the time, this was his first degree of any kind received for his writing, making it a very special one. He later received honorary degrees from Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews and Bristol.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: The Dynasts

"The Dynasts" was published in three parts in 1904, 1906, and 1908. Hardy regarded this work as his Magnum Opus.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Max Gate

Today Max Gate is owned by the National Trust, and is open for visitors from March to September. Keepers Cottage is a present day B&B near Hardy's birth place in Higher Bockhampton. Athelhampton House was the home of friends of Hardys, and is also referred to in a few of his poems. Auchinleck House was the home of Scottish diarist and biographer James Boswell (1740-1795), and has absolutely nothing to do with Hardy.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Poet

Hardy's first volume of poetry, "Wessex Poems", was published in 1898. It is a collection of 51 poems set against the Dorset landscape.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Florence Dugdale

Florence Dugdale (1879-1937) had known Hardy since 1905 and became his secretary. After his death she published "The Early Life of Thomas Hardy" and the "Later Years of Thomas Hardy". The biography is generally believed to be mostly written by Hardy himself before he died. Claire Skinner, Polly Walker and Pauline Peters are all actresses who have appeared in movies based on Hardy's books.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey

Thomas Hardy died of pleurisy, an inflammation of the cavity surrounding the lungs. When he died the executors of his estate burned most of his letters and notebooks.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: 1895

"Jude the Obscure" didn't accord with the morals of the time, and the Bishop of Wakefield even burned a copy of the book. Hardy wrote only poetry for the rest of his life - excepting his biography, which in some parts were also a work of fiction.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Stinsford Cemetery

His heart lies in his first wife's grave at Stinsford Cemetery. A Dorchester Cemetery does exist, but Hardys heart isn't buried there. No Hardy memorial exists in Oxford. A rumour has it that Hardy's heart was actually eaten by his housekeeper's cat shortly after his death and that the heart actually buried at Stinsford is that of a pig. It is probably just a myth, but you'll never know.

From Quiz Thomas Hardy Basics

Answer: Architect

He was enrolled as a student of architecture at King's College in London. While on one of his architectural projects he met and fell in love with his first wife, Emma Lavinia Gifford.

From Quiz The Life of Thomas Hardy

Answer: Top O' Town

The status was unveiled in 1931 by Hardy's friend Sir James Barrie (author of Peter Pan), at the place where it stands to this day, Top O' Town at the top of Dorchester High Street. It is not a very central location - in his lifetime Hardy wasn't all that popular in Dorchester for having based many of his characters on real persons from the area.

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