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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
I very much enjoyed Claire Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy. She did a solid job describing the times and circumstances surrounding Hardy's life. The first two thirds of the book made me both curious and interested about Hardy as a developing author as well as his many novels. It was interesting to learn about his ancestry, early life and difficulties in terms of becoming a writer. The landscape and surroundings are wonderfully depicted as well as his romance and marriage to Emma Hardy.
Be warned that there are numerous spoilers (for the novels) in this biography as Tomalin happily analyzes plot lines and speculates around their association with people in Hardy's life. A surprise were the numerous references to Hardy's poetry. It is eloquent and powerful often focusing on nature and aspects of time and memory. The last third of the biography focused on minute details, Florence Hardy (his second wife) and was a bit overblown (where was the editor?). It dragged on a bit. However, Tomalin eloquently installs a foundation for exploring Hardy's work in more detail. The biography breathes new life and meaning into Hardy's numerous novels and stories. Highly recommended as a gateway to exploring one of England's greatest authors. It definitely filled me with an urge to rediscover and explore more of his works and in particular his poetry. It's lovely! As an example:
The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy
I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
Very good indeed. I love Thomas Hardy's novels (most of them) and his poetry and it was good to learn more of his life from such an accomplished biographer
This book pretty much cemented why Hardy is one of my favorite authors!
Claire Tomalin is fast becoming the epitome of the biographer. Her books are praised far and wide and this one regarding the wonderful Thomas Hardy is no exception. She separates the man from his writing very well but also emphasises the deep connection Hardy has to his creations and the biographical nature of some of the characters and plots surrounding them.
Hardy did not have the fortunate birth of some of his literary contemporaries and was always something of an outsider by nature. Slightly jealous of others noble birth he continually aspired to the gentlemanly nature of the Victorian season dweller. Yet, also he maintained a curious distance to some of the mopre extravagant examples of rich notoriety and kept a dangerous radical streak that he kept hidden from upper-class society until they required release through the wonderful characters in his novels.
He found it difficult to get published initially as many authors do, and always considered himself more of a poet writing fiction professionally. Indeed, the level to which he bowdlerised much of his writing shows us that he wasn’t as protective of his art as some authors can be. Due to the graphic and, at the time, shocking nature of some of the set pieces within his books he would often be required to change endings and plot lines at various points throughout the publication process. His books were serialised first in periodicals of the time, so the changes were not practically difficult but somewhere the intolerant nature of the literary elite must have galled Hardy greatly.
Later in his life, after the publication and reaction to Jude The Obscure Hardy settled in to his poetry and a more solitary existence, reserving his public side for dignitaries and visitors. His troubled wife bore much with regards to his mood swings and in a storyline worthy of one of the man’s novels, Hardy only really appreciated Emma once she had died.
He devoted much time after her death, despite remarrying, on the memory of his late wife writing many, many poems about their life together. Emma is a curious figure throughout the book and it’s fair to say that Tomalin is a little hard on her. She ridicules Emma’s own attempts at writing (“readable, but nothing more”), and traduces her early assistance to Hardy when trying to be published. Surely her encouragement must have kept him going in those long weeks waiting for responses from publishers and bouncing back from initial disappointment? Perhaps also if her own literary ambitions had been supported by Hardy in the same way she did his, she may have amounted to more. Perhaps Tomalin thinks Emma should have been grateful to be with such a learned scholar and got on with it rather than having dreams of her own, but this would belie the individuality that Hardy seemed to find attractive in women.
When Tomalin writes about Thomas however, an enormous amount of respect and good feeling pours from the book. It is a beautifully crafted biography about a fascinating man whose life will no doubt fill volumes yet to come.
Hardy did not have the fortunate birth of some of his literary contemporaries and was always something of an outsider by nature. Slightly jealous of others noble birth he continually aspired to the gentlemanly nature of the Victorian season dweller. Yet, also he maintained a curious distance to some of the mopre extravagant examples of rich notoriety and kept a dangerous radical streak that he kept hidden from upper-class society until they required release through the wonderful characters in his novels.
He found it difficult to get published initially as many authors do, and always considered himself more of a poet writing fiction professionally. Indeed, the level to which he bowdlerised much of his writing shows us that he wasn’t as protective of his art as some authors can be. Due to the graphic and, at the time, shocking nature of some of the set pieces within his books he would often be required to change endings and plot lines at various points throughout the publication process. His books were serialised first in periodicals of the time, so the changes were not practically difficult but somewhere the intolerant nature of the literary elite must have galled Hardy greatly.
Later in his life, after the publication and reaction to Jude The Obscure Hardy settled in to his poetry and a more solitary existence, reserving his public side for dignitaries and visitors. His troubled wife bore much with regards to his mood swings and in a storyline worthy of one of the man’s novels, Hardy only really appreciated Emma once she had died.
He devoted much time after her death, despite remarrying, on the memory of his late wife writing many, many poems about their life together. Emma is a curious figure throughout the book and it’s fair to say that Tomalin is a little hard on her. She ridicules Emma’s own attempts at writing (“readable, but nothing more”), and traduces her early assistance to Hardy when trying to be published. Surely her encouragement must have kept him going in those long weeks waiting for responses from publishers and bouncing back from initial disappointment? Perhaps also if her own literary ambitions had been supported by Hardy in the same way she did his, she may have amounted to more. Perhaps Tomalin thinks Emma should have been grateful to be with such a learned scholar and got on with it rather than having dreams of her own, but this would belie the individuality that Hardy seemed to find attractive in women.
When Tomalin writes about Thomas however, an enormous amount of respect and good feeling pours from the book. It is a beautifully crafted biography about a fascinating man whose life will no doubt fill volumes yet to come.
Claire Tomalin writes great biographies! This is a very readable look at the life and work of Thomas Hardy. It makes me want to read all his novels that I haven’t got to yet and re-read [b:Jude the Obscure|50798|Jude the Obscure|Thomas Hardy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389403264l/50798._SY75_.jpg|41342119]!
It is an easy and interesting read, so if you just want a quick overview of Hardy's life, it does the job. I became, however, increasingly annoyed with all the speculation on Tomalin's part - 'he must have thought so-and-so', 'if they did this and that, did they react so-and-so?' When there is no possibility of knowing, I'd have preferred no guesses. Tomalin also inserts her own judgements constantly. Instead of letting e.g. Florence or Emma's words speak for themselves, Tomalin must tell us how pathetic their statements are. She does not let the readers decide for themselves. I'm left with the feeling that Tomalin actively dislikes both Emma and Florence, and that she excuses much of Hardy's behaviour towards them because - what? He's the genius? He's a man? He's her topic? Who knows.
I always can tell what makes a good biography, at least in my eyes. It’s after having read the final page, when I close the book and try to go about my daily life only to discover that I haven’t quite got the life I’ve just read out of my head, that I know that what I finished was particularly good. Tomalin's biography on one of the most well-respected and widely-read English authors is one such book. Hardy grew up in a poor country family, but even at a young age showed great promise for learning and had an obvious fondness for reading that set him apart from his contemporaries. His natural inclination for observing the world around him and creating stories about what he saw paved the path toward becoming an exceptional novelist and poet.
Though his early attempts at gaining attention from his writing met with constant challenges; he went from publisher to publisher and endured countless rejections before finally getting his first novel published (which can only be encouraging for anyone who has ever indulged hopes of writing a book, surely?). His bleak novels about the struggles of man against the unrelenting and baleful workings of fate thus earned him a reputation for pessimism, which Hardy himself disagreed with. He thoroughly enjoyed his vocation and the success it brought him; he loved to socialize and was open and friendly with people from all walks of life, from aspiring young writers to his local postman to whom he lent some books from his personal library and invited into his home for impromptu literary discussions. Hardy had a joy for life and a quick, lively mind, even through his final days. He considered himself a realist with an ironic eye. I consider him an author not to be missed.
Though his early attempts at gaining attention from his writing met with constant challenges; he went from publisher to publisher and endured countless rejections before finally getting his first novel published (which can only be encouraging for anyone who has ever indulged hopes of writing a book, surely?). His bleak novels about the struggles of man against the unrelenting and baleful workings of fate thus earned him a reputation for pessimism, which Hardy himself disagreed with. He thoroughly enjoyed his vocation and the success it brought him; he loved to socialize and was open and friendly with people from all walks of life, from aspiring young writers to his local postman to whom he lent some books from his personal library and invited into his home for impromptu literary discussions. Hardy had a joy for life and a quick, lively mind, even through his final days. He considered himself a realist with an ironic eye. I consider him an author not to be missed.
Tomalin is a fantastic biographer, and I was therefore keen to pick up another of her impeccably researched books. I knew relatively little about Thomas Hardy, despite having read quite a few of his books, and thus decided to order a copy of Thomas Hardy: The Time Torn Man.
As ever with Tomalin's work, I found this a real treat to read. The author focuses in detail upon so many different aspects of Hardy's life and work, and also offers wonderful critiques of his prose. Tomalin has spurred me on to read both more of her own work, and more of Hardy's.
As ever with Tomalin's work, I found this a real treat to read. The author focuses in detail upon so many different aspects of Hardy's life and work, and also offers wonderful critiques of his prose. Tomalin has spurred me on to read both more of her own work, and more of Hardy's.