Publisher's Synopsis
Not far from Dorsetshire's county town of Dorchester - in the hamlet of Higher Bockhampton - stands a thatched cottage situated on the edge of a wild heath. Here, in the year 1840, Thomas Hardy was born. During his childhood and youth, Hardy immersed himself in the beautiful and evocative countryside which surrounded him. He learned the violin, his family being musicians and members of the nearby Stinsford church ß quire'. Even as a youth there were indications that Hardy had a gift for writing.
