This part of The Thomas Hardy Association World Wide Web site is primarily intended to be helpful to anyone seeking accurate information about Hardy and texts of his writings located elsewhere on the Web. Secondarily, it attempts to provide representative examples of the wide variety of sites which are in some significant way related to Hardy. Links pages are reviewed every six months and updated as required. The date on each page linking to an open site is that of the latest update and is given in the following format: month/day/year. Sites once open but now closed are indicated with "[NC"] after the entry.

World Wide Web sites vary enormously in reference value, and those related to Hardy are a microcosm of that variety. Persons searching the Web for data about Hardy's life and work may come across sites that provide a wealth of well-documented and accurate detail, sophisticated critical analysis, reliable texts, and carefully identified pictures. Unfortunately, it is at least equally likely that they may hit upon sites providing misinformation, jejune comment, texts derived from dubious sources, and misleadingly labeled images. Hence, at this TTHA site, not only are links provided to WWW pages of potential interest to persons seeking accurate data and informed analysis on Hardy, but the contents of those sites are described and their usefulness discussed, so that inquirers may save time by reviewing the commentary provided before linking to a site which may be worthless for their purposes or seriously flawed in one or more respects. And, in most cases, remote links from those sites to other Hardy-related pages are available from this TTHA site as well.

The number of WWW sites in some way related to Thomas Hardy runs into many thousands, and, accordingly, this page must be selective. Above all, it aims to give convenient access to all WWW sites which provide thoroughly researched scholarly comment on Hardy, as well as connections to other sites which, for various reasons, could be of use to persons with a serious interest in Hardy. Sites deemed most reliable are marked with a triple asterisk ***. In addition, a broadly representative selection of the many other sorts of sites related to Hardy is also included. To accommodate concerns for different kinds of information, this page is divided into three parts.

First, it describes and evaluates some two hundred "HARDY-RELATED" sites--i.e. sites either devoted exclusively to Hardy or containing sub-pages whose focus is primarily on some aspect of his life and/or work. Second, links are also provided to "REFERENCE" sites deemed to be of potential value for those doing research on Hardy--for example, to pages which provide such things as access to world-wide library catalogs, to extensive information about the Victorian period, or to guides on the proper form for scholarly citation of electronic sources. Third, there are, also, links to "COMMERCIAL" sites such as major booksellers' catalogs, publishers' lists, and advertisements of materials or services of possible use to those with a serious interest in Hardy.

All Web sites linked here are considered primarily on the basis of their informed accuracy, careful documentation, and suitability for scholarly use. Of course, a judgment that they lack those qualities should not be taken to imply that they may not serve other valuable purposes. Although many of the sites linked are "under construction," they are evaluated not for their potential but for their utility at the date they were reviewed. Web masters are encouraged to communicate any changes after the date given for the current description and evaluation of their sites. Corrections, or information about relevant pages that have been overlooked, would be most gratefully received.

Finally, although all the sites may be accessed by going immediately to the directories in "OTHER SITES," anyone in search of particular kinds of information about Hardy will find that the some three hundred sites currently described and evaluated can be more effectively browsed--and their contents certainly can be more efficiently searched--by using the extensive analytic subject and title INDEX provided below.

For guidance on the use of e-texts and pictures

see

GENERAL CAUTION

Directory

to

OTHER SITES

INDEX