Hardy Notes: Saved From the Fire!

Like many writers and artists, Thomas Hardy left instructions that his notes should be destroyed upon his death, and the executors of his will destroyed most of his papers. Fortunately, though, they didn't burn it all...

The BBC announced the discovery of 12 volumes of Hardy's notes, rescued by Hardy's wife and now featured in a BBC documentary. The notes offer tantalizing details about Hardy's life and works. As Dr. Greenslade says, "It marks a change in direction from the more romanticised tone of his earlier works to a harder, more realistic one."