Building on the formula of York Notes, this Advanced series introduces students to more sophisticated analysis and wider critical perspectives.

The York Notes series covers major works from medieval to modern English literature, and classic and contemporary works from Europe, America, the Commonwealth and the Third World.

This biography of Hardy views its subject through a minutely revealing lens whilst setting it against a sweeping historical backdrop, with the result that Hardy emerges as a more rounded and signficant figure of his time than ever previously appreciated.