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Thomas Hardy was born on 2nd June 1840,at Higher Bockhampton.This small vilage is near Dorchester,in dorset-a county in the south of England.Hardy's parents were poor,working people.

Thomas went to a school in Dorchester and he studied Latin,French and German as well as Literature,science and art .At the age of 16,he began studying architecutre.When he was 22,he went to London and worked for and architect.He returned to Dorset in 1867,and in the same year he began to write his first novel.At this time ,Hardy fell in love with Trphena Sparks .Their romance continued during the summer of 1869 until ,in 1870,Hardy went to work in the coujty of Cornwall.There,he met Emma Gifford ,the danghter of a rich lawyer.

Hardy's first novel,Desperate Remedies,was published in 1871.Between 1871and 1895 he wrote 15 other novels,some short stories adn poems. In 1874 ,Hardy married Emma Gifford ,and he stopped working as an architect.He and Emma went to live near Dorchester in 1887. Hardy designed thdeir large house himself.He called it max

Gate.

Hardy became rich and famous and many important visitors came to meet him at Max Gate.But his marriage to Emma was not happy.When she died in 1912,the writer was very upset and from that time he wrote no more novels. Instead,he wrote poetry.Many of his poems were sad.