Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840 in Dorset, England. His father worked as a stonemason and his mother was a ambitious and well-read person. His mother supplied Hardy’s formal education, which ended when he turned 16 when he became John Hick’s apprentice.

Thomas Hardy became an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement. Most of his work depicts characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy published his first poetry in his fifties and has come to be as well known as his novels.

Hardy died from an illness called pleurisy in January 11, 1928. On his deathbed, his final poem was dictated by his wife.
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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy