Letters of Emma and Florence Hardy

It has been said that both Thomas Hardy's wives were livelier letter-writers than he was himself. They were certainly less discreet, especially on the subject of there marital grievances, with the result that Hardy's intensely private life and personality are uniquely illuminated in the letters of the two remarkable but very different women who knew him best. Inevitable overshadowed by their husband during their lifetimes, their distinctive voices--together with their particular concerns and their opinions on many other subjects beside their husband now clearly sound throughout his meticulously edited and full annotated selection of their letters.