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Books Quiz - Author - Thomas Hardy (Questions)

Thomas Hardy’s novels capture rural life, strong emotions and fate’s twists. See how well you know his tragic characters, Wessex settings and powerful storylines.

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Fascinating Fact:

Trained first as an architect, he worked on church restorations before turning full time to writing in the 1870s.

In Specialist Books, this Thomas Hardy author quiz looks at his life, major novels and poetic style, focusing on Wessex settings, tragic plots and the world he created.

Key Terms

Wessex: Hardy’s fictional version of south-west England, based on real counties such as Dorset and Somerset.
Realism: A style of writing that shows everyday life and society as they really are, without idealising people or events.
Tragic hero: A main character whose flaws and circumstances lead to suffering or disaster by the end of the story.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Who was Thomas Hardy in English literature?

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet whose books often explore rural life, love, fate and class. His stories are usually set in the fictional region of Wessex.

Which Thomas Hardy novels are most famous?

Some of Thomas Hardy’s best-known novels are Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obscure.

What themes did Thomas Hardy explore in his books?

Hardy’s books often explore love, social class, moral choices, the impact of industrial change and the idea that fate or chance can shape people’s lives.

Try These Related Quizzes

Hardy was born in 1840 in which English county?

[ ]	Cornwall
[ ]	Devon
[ ]	Dorset
[ ]	Somerset

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for how much?

[ ]	Five pounds
[ ]	Five guineas
[ ]	Ten pounds
[ ]	Ten guineas

What was Hardy's father's profession?

[ ]	Clergyman
[ ]	Farmer
[ ]	Solicitor
[ ]	Stonemason

What was the title of Hardy's first volume of poetry, published in 1898?

[ ]	Essex Poems
[ ]	Middlesex Poems
[ ]	Sussex Poems
[ ]	Wessex Poems

In Jude the Obscure, what is Jude's surname?

[ ]	Crawley
[ ]	Fawley
[ ]	Hawley
[ ]	Sawley

Who played Bathsheba Everdene in the 1967 film version of Far from the Madding Crowd?

[ ]	Julie Andrews
[ ]	Julie Christie
[ ]	Joan Collins
[ ]	Elizabeth Taylor

What is the name of the feeble-minded young man in Under the Greenwood Tree?

[ ]	Thomas Leaf
[ ]	Thomas Tree
[ ]	Thomas Twigg
[ ]	Thomas Wood

In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, what name does Tess give to her illegitimate son?

[ ]	Shadow
[ ]	Sorrow
[ ]	Sparrow
[ ]	Storm

The Return of the Native begins when?

[ ]	Halloween
[ ]	Guy Fawkes Night
[ ]	Christmas Eve
[ ]	New Year's Eve

10.

Before moving to London in 1862, Hardy trained as what?

[ ]	An architect
[ ]	A blacksmith
[ ]	A printer
[ ]	A sheep shearer

Books Quiz - Author - Thomas Hardy (Answers)

Hardy was born in 1840 in which English county?

[ ]	Cornwall
[ ]	Devon
[x]	Dorset
[ ]	Somerset

He was born in Stinsford, just outside Dorchester

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for how much?

[ ]	Five pounds
[x]	Five guineas
[ ]	Ten pounds
[ ]	Ten guineas

The Mayor of Casterbridge has the subtitle, The Life and Death of a Man of Character

What was Hardy's father's profession?

[ ]	Clergyman
[ ]	Farmer
[ ]	Solicitor
[x]	Stonemason

His father was also called Thomas Hardy

What was the title of Hardy's first volume of poetry, published in 1898?

[ ]	Essex Poems
[ ]	Middlesex Poems
[ ]	Sussex Poems
[x]	Wessex Poems

He set most of his work in the semi-fictional county of Wessex

In Jude the Obscure, what is Jude's surname?

[ ]	Crawley
[x]	Fawley
[ ]	Hawley
[ ]	Sawley

Jude the Obscure was the last of Hardy's published novels

Who played Bathsheba Everdene in the 1967 film version of Far from the Madding Crowd?

[ ]	Julie Andrews
[x]	Julie Christie
[ ]	Joan Collins
[ ]	Elizabeth Taylor

Her 3 suitors were played by Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terence Stamp

What is the name of the feeble-minded young man in Under the Greenwood Tree?

[x]	Thomas Leaf
[ ]	Thomas Tree
[ ]	Thomas Twigg
[ ]	Thomas Wood

Like everyone else, he is smitten by the schoolteacher Fancy Day

In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, what name does Tess give to her illegitimate son?

[ ]	Shadow
[x]	Sorrow
[ ]	Sparrow
[ ]	Storm

The full title of Tess of the d'Urbervilles is Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented