Edmund Gosse on Thomas Hardy
'There is no visible head to the profession of letters in this country. The throne is vacant, and literature is gravely bereaved.'
Gosse and Hardy were friends for 53 years. When Hardy died in 1928 Gosse acted as pall-bearer at his funeral. Four months later he too was dead. But in the meantime he had recorded a remarkable gramophone tribute to his friend.
Dr Richard Hoggart introduces extracts from Gosse's forgotten recording. ' Overwhelmingly, one's first impression is that we simply could not write or speak like that today.' Producer COLIN SMITH