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The Poetry of Thomas Hardy Audiobook
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(3.75) - 8 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Many giants of literature originate from the shores of Britain's emerald isles—Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, The Bront├½s, and Austen among them. Thomas Hardy is also rightfully included; his works Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge are but three of his literary masterpieces. Lesser known, but just as brilliant, are his poems. Hardy himself thought he was a poet who wrote novels purely for the money. Indeed his poems were not published until he was in his fifties, after his major novels were published and his reputation set. Today, his poetry stands on its own merits.
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"My rating is particularly aimed at the poems of 1912, which I love. They were written after the death of us first wife, with whom latterly he had a fraught relationship. When she died unexpectedly, he mourned the love they had lost before. Lovely. "
— Wendy (4 out of 5 stars)
The Poetry of Thomas Hardy Listener Reviews
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" My favourite collection of poems yet. Hardy's talent ripples through his work and "Under the Waterfall" and "Beeny Cliff" are two of my most favourite poems of all time. "
— Coral, 9/25/2010 -
" Sorry, a couple of poems I like, but not really my cup of tea. "
— Lynda, 5/16/2009 -
" Poetry like art is subjective to the eye of the beholder. Even in the midst of difficult text the subtle human experience of trudging through the past can bring on melancholy of our own lives and recent past. "
— Dustin, 7/2/2008
About Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), English poet, dramatist, and novelist, was born on the Egdon Heath in Dorset. He studied in Dorchester and apprenticed to an architect before leaving for London, where he began to write. Unable to find a public for his poetry, which idealized the rural life, he turned to the novel and met with success as well as controversy. The strong public reaction against some of his darker themes turned him back to writing verse. Today several of his novels are considered masterpieces of tragedy.
About the Narrators
Richard Mitchley is an actor and narrator who has appeared in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet…, The Black Adder, and Doctor Who.
Ghizela Rowe has worked in broadcast television for thirty years on a broad range of programming. Her specialization is in music. She helps run the Copyright Group, an extensive collection of master recording rights, and has lent her voice to many audiobooks, including The Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Elizabeth Gaskell: The Short Stories, and The Romantics: An Introduction.