Author - Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset in 1840, the son of a stonemason. After leaving school at 16 Hardy became an apprentice architect and he moved to London where he won awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects. His first love though was writing and he returned home to pursue a literary career.

In his 60+ year career Hardy wrote 15 novels, most notably Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. He also penned more than 50 short stories and has had 14 volumes of his poetry published. He died in 1928 at the ripe age of 87.

Hardy's work has influenced many younger writers, and without it we might never have heard the voices of D. H. Lawrence or Virginia Woolf. See how well you know the man and his works by playing this quiz.