Woman Much Missed: Thomas Hardy, Emma Hardy, and Poetry

Woman Much Missed is the first book-length study of the many poems Thomas Hardy composed in the wake of his first wife Emma's death in 1912. Mark Ford uses these poems to develop a narrative of their four-year courtship on the remote and romantic coast of Cornwall. He shows how Emma's writings and experiences during this time were fundamental to Thomas's evolution into a best-selling novelist and one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Ford provides accessible and insightful readings from a poet's perspective, correcting the oversight of his numerous other poems about Emma.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Woman Much Missed is the first comprehensive exploration of the extensive collection of poems (over 150) that renowned English author Thomas Hardy penned in the aftermath of his first wife Emma's passing in November 1912. Mark Ford utilizes these poetic works to craft a captivating narrative that traces the course of their four-year courtship on the picturesque and romantic coast of Cornwall, where they first met. Subsequently, Ford delves into Thomas's poetic portrayal of the gradual dissolution of their marriage and the bitter final decade they endured. Through his meticulous analysis, Ford demonstrates how Emma's writings and experiences during this period played a pivotal role in shaping Thomas's remarkable journey from a successful novelist to one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.

While the marriage between Thomas and Emma had been plagued by difficulties for over a decade, and Emma often retreated to her attic rooms above his study, her passing served as a catalyst for him to produce some of the most celebrated elegies in the English language. Twenty-one of these elegies, including masterpieces such as "The Voice" (which opens Woman Much Missed, how you call to me, call to me) and "After a Journey," were collected in Poems of 1912–13. While these works have garnered significant attention and are frequently studied by schoolchildren and university students alike, his numerous other poems about Emma have received relatively less discussion. Ford aims to rectify this oversight by offering accessible and insightful interpretations from a poet's perspective.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 144 x 224 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192886804