THE THOMAS HARDY ASSOCIATION
LINKS

A 31


DIRECTOR: ROBERT SCHWEIK
© 2000

THOMAS HARDY (DORSET)

 

Address: http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/btomp/thomasha.htm [NOW CLOSED; its successor is our Links A 191]
Contact: Brian Tompkins (btomp@sprynet.com)
Date: 06/01/00

 

DESCRIPTION:

Part of a "Dorset Page" which Brian Tompkins also masters. Arranged in five main parts

  1. "Thomas Hardy": a two-paragraph summary of Hardy's life, with links to e-texts of Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess, and The Mayor of Casterbridge, and to descriptions of such locations as Higher Bockhampton and Max Gate.
  2. "The Dorset Online Bookstore": advertisements for several editions of Hardy's writings.
  3. "Hardy on the Net": links to seven other Web pages. One is to "The Wessex Index," another sub-page of the "Dorset Page." This "Index" provides an alphabetical list of some of Hardy's fictional place names; clicking on a fictional name brings up a page with a picture and information about the supposed Dorset location to which that name is related, as well as tourist information.
  4. "Dorset Literary Connections": very brief comment on such writers as Jane Austen, Henry Fielding, Thomas Hardy, and T.E. Lawrence
  5. "The Dorset Page": a link to the home page of which this on Hardy and "The Wessex Index" are parts. Much of it is devoted to tourist information.

COMMENT:

The biographical note on Hardy is too brief to be of much value, and also of doubtful utility are the links to the three e-texts of Hardy novels because no information is provided about how they were produced and the print editions upon which they are based are not identified (see our GENERAL CAUTION about such texts). Another link in the biographical note, to "Max Gate," is inoperative.

"The Dorset Online Bookstore" is in fact a connection to a remote commercial web site with no special connection to Dorset; for a description and evaluation of it, see our link to Amazon.com.

Of the seven "Hardy on the Net" sites, two have long been closed and the others to remote pages are all described, evaluated, and linked from our TTHA site. "The Wessex Index" link is partly devoted to data on local accomodations, restaurants, sports & recreation, etc. What information it does provide about Hardy is rather simplistic and in at least one case grossly misleading: Hardy's "Talbothays" is mistakenly identified as Tolpuddle.

SUMMARY:

Because this site, and "The Dorset Page" of which it is a part, are primarily devoted to information useful for tourists, the data provided could be of help to someone planning a stay in Dorset, but it is of little value for anyone seeking information about Hardy.

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