A reading from his novels and his poems
Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, and already you may have heard Desmond MacCarthy 's centenary tribute to him.
Hardy was one of the giants of Victorian literature, an author who wrote not only magnificent novels but poetry and short stories that rank high in the history of the English conte, while his great play of the Napoleonic era, The Dynasts, amply proved his grasp of history and period.