Customer Reviews

Thomas Hardy

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The facts of Thomas Hardy's life are well-known and reprinted in the front of most of his novels. But what we've lacked is a good, modern biography that is readable by non-academics. Ms. Tomalin, one of Britain's most experienced contemporary biographers, supplies an excellent portrait of Hardy to meet that need.

This book integrates the novels with Hardy's life story and shows that many of the strange twists of fate for which Hardy is well-known were in fact culled from careful newspaper research. While Tomalin is respectful of her subject (she indulges on very little speculation as to why two marriages produced no offspring) she's not afraid to offer a candid appraisal of some of the weaker novels as in "After the arresting start . . . the heavy paraphernalia of the Victorian novel is wheeled out creaking: coincidences pile up one after another, letters appear at the wrong moment . . ." [Two on a Tower]. And Tomalin integrates the poetry into the narrative as well.

The best contribution of Tomalin's scholarship is to divide the novels into the great (truly great) works, such as Mayor of Casterbridge, from the interesting by less worthy work churned out to meet the needs of monthly magazines. This is a more compelling distinction than Hardy's own classification: Novels of character and environment; romances and fantasies; and novels of ingenuity.

Claire Tomalin's book will richly reward those who have had the opportunity to read all of Hardy's novels, but is a most entertaining life for those who have less familiarity with the great author's work.

No biography by Claire Tomalin can be anything less than interesting and readable, but unfortunately after her superior efforts on the lives of Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys in recent years Tomalin has produced a biography that is neither very needed nor one of her better efforts. Few of the great English writers have a life already better chronicled than Hardy, given the recent excellent biographical study by Millgate (not to mention the two-volume autobiography Hardy himself produced late in life and had published posthumously as a "biography" under the name of his second wife Florence). Tomalin's room to make a new mark here is thus very limited, and she does so by emphasizing his poetry, his relations with his first wife Emma, and by engaging in some very bizarre speculation based on the few areas in Hardy's life where we have very little evidence. Where such speculation was necessary for her lives of Austen and Pepys (given the comparative paucity of supporting materials about their lives, and, in Austen's case, of first-hand documentation of her subject's life), it seems perverse when dealing with a life so thoroughly documented both by Hardy himself and by those who knew them. In one instance, she proposes that because the name of Abel Whittle is THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE is also the name of a Dorset man who was a contemporary of Hardy's mother Jemima, that this might mean that Hardy collaborated with the plot of that novel with his mother--a highly dubious speculation.

Tomalin is on much more solid ground when she talks about Hardy's famous deteriorating relationship with his odd lonely wife Emma, who grew to loathe her husband in her later years and to document that hatred in great detail in her journals. Emma Hardy emerges as a much more distinct character in this work than does the droll, controlling Hardy or his frustrated second wife Florence, and again it might have been better had Tomalin stuck more to the facts to give a fuller portrait of her three main figures. The biography is also oddly too short, given the length of Hardy's life: odd details, like his brief meeting with the Prince of Wales in the twenties, whereas his relations with other writers (such as E. M. Forster) are given in barely any of the space they deserve. And at times Tomalin does not seem to have taken her narrative through the requisite drafts she might have: for example, midway through one paragraph she suddenly begins to describe in great detail a vitriolic attack Emma Hardy directed against Hardy's sister Mary without any explanation whatsoever of what prompted the tirade. Hardy's life was too rich, and Tomalin too good of a writer, for this book to be unreadable or uninteresting, but given her achievements with her biographies of Austen, Pepys, Katherine Mansfield, Mary Wollstonecraft, and others this book comes as a big let-down.

This new biography of Thomas Hardy by author Claire Tomalin is a deep and sensitive work about a man whose own works were hotly debated and whose personal life was often so coolly lived. Rich in detail with a wonderful narrative, Tomalin deftly remains at a distance from her subject letting the words of Hardy's books, and especially his poems, tell the story. At the end this reader wants to revisit many of Hardy's works but also to get to know his poems. After all, as Tomalin points out, Hardy considered himself more of a poet than a novelist.

A rustic man with a complex nature, Thomas Hardy seemed to live sometimes at polar opposites. Hailing from Dorset, he nonetheless made London his second home and was comfortable in each. His collective output, often expressing much joy, was hardly a mirror of his own, sad life. The interest in Tomalin's book could not have been kept had she not included his peculiar first wife, Emma and his jealous second wife, Florence. Women ruled the roost in Hardy's life and the influence these two women had on Hardy was great. Tomalin captures all of the relationships firmly.

It is a tribute to the author to get so close to Hardy without letting it becoming a hagiography (in the modern sense of the word). Added to that is the subtle humor displayed throughout. Two of the best comical observations were penned by persons who either knew or witnessed Hardy...the first being poet Arthur Benson's writing about a visit to Max Gate (the Hardy home in Dorchester) shortly before Emma's death in 1912. It's the best description of the Hardys in the book. The second account, just as humorous as the first, was written by George Bernard Shaw's wife Charlotte, who attended Hardy's second funeral at Westminster Abbey along with her husband, Rudyard Kipling, J.M. Barrie, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and many others. The farcical nature of the day is a savored ending to the book.

Claire Tomalin is part historian, part author and part professor. In this Thomas Hardy biography she has done a great service in relating his life, writing with flair and detail. I highly recommend it.

As a Thomas Hardy fans, I was thrilled when I saw that Claire Tomalin had followed her l997 biography of Jane Austen with this book. I enjoyed Jane Austen: A Life and had positive expectations of the new book; these were more than fulfilled. I find this book even better than the first.
Ms Tomalin writes well and is very thorough, making good use of sources available to her. I don't know if it was that she had more sources available to her this time, but her thoroughness seemed less nitpicky (she is never pedantic)is somewhow than it sometimes appeared in the earlier work. When she gives--parenthetically--the actual number of the first phone the Hardy's acquired, it is a sort of bonus rather than a filler. Hardy may have been a drab little man--as some contemporaries described him--but her description is not drab reading; it is compelling and enlightening, making one's joy in his work even greater than it already was. I am more familiar with his prose than with his poetry, and I particularly appreiated he use of his poems to illustrate aspects of his life and relationships. Ms Tomalin has done a truly lovely job of making me more familiar with my two favorite authors.

This was a very well-written biography and fulfilled my expectations of Claire Tomalin. It was brisk and readable, and very interesting to the point that I read through the footnotes after finishing the book. I have read many of Hardy's novels but never his poetry, and never a bio of him before. I found this book to be very interesting but it left me with the impression that I need to read earlier Hardy bios by Millgate and others to get a full picture of Thomas Hardy. I think it is a good overview of the man and a great introductory point for deeper study.

Thomas Hardy has been my favorite author ever since I read "The Mayor of Casterbridge" as a sophomore in high school,'way back in 1962. Since that first book, I have read his novels avidly, and with great pleasure, as has my son. This new biography is simply amazing, for it recounts Hardy's full and active life, and even though it shows some of his warts, it gives us a picture of a man who used his life and struggles in his works. Mostly his poetry was generated from his experiences, but many of the characters and scenes of his novels came from his life in the country, and he even used certain buildings in his tales, changing the names, of course. We see here a human Hardy, flawed just as we all are, but striving mightily to give to the world his feelings and thoughts through his works. After reading this book, I appreciate Hardy even more!

I read this biography of Thomas Hardy in association with a discussion of the Mayor of Casterbridge: a very timely read. It is ironic that Thomas Hardy is known so well for his novels rather than his poetry. His ability to paint lyrical pictures in verse is, in my view, more consistent than his prose.

Claire Tomalin's book is a very readable addition to the body of work about Hardy. In this book, we see Hardy the man with very human failings and foibles. We also see a man who is torn between urban, suburban and agricultural lifestyles. Much of this tension is shown in the way he presents society through his novels.

For me, the portrayal of Hardy's relationships with the significant women in his life gives an extra dimension to Ms Tomalin's book. Thomas Hardy the author is perhaps easier to understand through Thomas Hardy the man.

Recommended both to those who want to know more about Thomas Hardy specifically as well as to those who like to read about major literary figures.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Thomas Hardy's continuing popularity and ever-rising acclaim ensure that there is a new biography of him every few years. This may seem excessive, as he wrote a two volume autobiography, and nearly everyone agrees the definitive biography (Millgate's) was written decades ago and has itself been recently updated. We can thus only ask, "Is this book worthwhile?"

It depends on who you are. Like most biographies, it has two potential audiences: those who have never read a Hardy biography and those who have read several or all. The former is clearly primary, and the book is excellent for them. It will give them new appreciation of the subject and his works, which is any artistic biography's test. Though outwardly extremely simple, Hardy was inwardly very complex, and Tomalin's significant insight into his personality and some of his stranger actions is probably more valuable than the widely available bare facts. She does not go as deep here as some will want, but it is quite sufficient for most. Her book covers Hardy's whole life and is accurate and very readable; some may want more ornamented prose, but she is clear and never bogs down in scholarly pretentiousness. She does not assume readers are intensely familiar with Hardy's work but, somewhat strangely, does often casually refer to other writers and works as if everyone knows them. One should of course read at least the vast majority of any author's work before coming to a biography, and any reasonably well-read person will have no trouble following the other references, so this should not be a problem. Even more accessible to neophytes is the book's conciseness - 380 pages not counting documentation, which is quite short considering that Hardy lived into his 87th year. Also in their favor is that documentation is confined to the back, letting those wanting only the text read without interruption or clutter. Finally, there is a small picture section and convenient index.

There is much less to attract the other audience. Several other biographies are more comprehensive, but more importantly, this has virtually no new facts. That said, Tomalin's method is somewhat different and, depending on one's degree of devotion, perhaps makes the book worthwhile. Her prime distinction, clear from the first paragraph, is that she emphasizes poems over fiction. Hardy considered himself a poet first and insisted that he wrote fiction for money - and indeed he wrote poetry nearly his whole life but quit fiction in 1895 despite living until 1928. However, he remains known mostly for fiction, and biographers have concentrated on it. This will likely have an ambivalent effect on casuals - some will bemoan fiction being deemphasized; some will appreciate the novelty -, but hard-cores may well be refreshed. Particularly interesting is that Tomalin uses the poems mainly for biographical insight - a risky move. The advantage is that she often sends us back to the works, often with new insight or appreciation, which is the highest praise that an artistic biography can get. That said, she often has no evidence besides subjective readings. Few have made better or more thorough artistic use of their lives than Hardy, but I am against biographical readings on principle without undeniable evidence, and the presentation of her readings as fact sometimes irks me. In her defense, her readings are always very well-argued and indeed convincing, and her non-biographical readings are also admirable. Over and above the poetry focus, the book is in the best way often nearly as much critical as biographical; she interweaves the works into the text in a way that is rarely done, and fans will appreciate it. This is what a literary biography should do in my view. Some may disagree, wishing Tomalin focused more on Hardy.

This brings up a few contentious points. The Prologue makes clear that the book is about Hardy the writer, and it certainly does a good job of that, but some may want more. I for one would have liked more detail about his architectural career. On the other hand, Tomalin should be commended for generally sticking to biographical facts. This is particularly important with Hardy because he was private, had his autobiography put out in a deliberately misleading way, and burned nearly all private papers. Details of his daily life, especially later years, are known almost entirely via irregular visitors and servants, most of whom spoke decades later and some of whom are for various reasons unreliable. This has inevitably meant that biographers have indulged in much speculation - some of it plausible, some of it absurd. Tomalin nearly avoids this altogether, even when it would have been especially interesting or seemingly inevitable, e.g., why Hardy had no children despite wanting them greatly. It must be said, though, that this is not always to the unambiguous good. For example, when neither an overt explanation from Hardy nor an objective outside one presents itself for one of the many paradoxes in his actions, thoughts, or personality, Tomalin is at a clear loss. The contrast between Hardy's deep pessimism and his generally successful life is a glaring instance. Her clear frustration at being unable to explain is near-embarrassing and quite puzzling when it seems obvious that Hardy simply had an ability to see deeply into the human condition without being bound by his own circumstances. Many, probably most, great artists have this; it is indeed arguably necessary to great art. Failure to see this is biographical criticism's main and often near fatal side effect and greatly regrettable. More valuably, Tomalin convincingly dismisses several of the wilder claims made by others.

Documentation and objectivity are important in any biography, and here Tomalin excels. She has 70 pages of notes derived from an impressively large and diverse array of sources. They are mostly very reliable, and Tomalin is unusually candid about acknowledging when they are not, which makes looking at the notes essential even to those normally disinclined. This is unfortunately annoying because the notes average several per page, requiring one to constantly flip to the back, but they are at least marked in the text. There is also an eight-page bibliography of great use to anyone interested in further reading.

Tone is also always integral to biography, and Tomalin's generally strikes the right note for me but is bound to rouse some ambivalence. This is no hagiography, but she clearly has great respect for Hardy and is perhaps too keen to defend. Even his greatest critic would be hard-pressed to find a major fault in his life, but Tomalin's lack of unqualified negativity may pique some readers. Interestingly and quite unusually, she has much the same attitude toward others; for instance, unlike many, she is sympathetic to Hardy's wives despite being well aware of their faults. A prime example is her account of Hardy's first marriage, which was very bitter toward the end. She refuses to blame either Hardy, writing almost as if the marriage fell apart of itself. One can easily call this ridiculous, but it may after all have been true to an extent and is at any rate a very Hardyesque depiction; his novels are full of tragedy, but it is remarkable how little anyone is to blame. He would probably have appreciated the objectivity. In contrast, Tomalin is notably clear-eyed in regard to Hardy's work, unafraid to be detrimental when she thinks it justified. If anything, she goes too far here - to me at least, as several of the works she slights I think are great. This is of course subjective, but we must value her honesty at any rate.

All told, this is probably the best biography for general readers, but those wanting a comprehensive one are probably better off with Millgate, and everyone should read Hardy's autobiography before any outside book.

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.

Being very familiar with Hardy's novels and short stories, but not so familiar with his poetry, this biography was the perfect one for me because Tomalin leans heavily on Hardy's poetry output to mark significant milestones in his personal life. Her writing is emotional, intense and very readable. It did not bother me in the least that she speculates about people and events that may, or may not have influenced Hardy's writing. She is only definitive when she knows that she can be and her thoughtful analysis of life events that possibly enter into Hardy's novelistic world is extremely thought provoking. She does not flinch in describing Hardy's warts and character flaws and her exploration of his complex relationships with women is both thorough and astonishing. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Hardy's literature.