“The flowers in the bride’s hand are sadly like the garland which decked the heifers of sacrifice in old times!”“Still, Sue, it is no worse for the woman than for the man. That’s what some women fail to see, and instead of protesting against the conditions they protest against the man, the other victim; just as a woman in a crowd will abuse the man who crushes against her, when he is only the helpless transmitter of the pressure put upon him.”

English novelist, poet and architect

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, poet and architect. A Victorian realist, he wrote about the tensions of his time and looked closely at social change, especially in rural Britain. He is known for novels and poetry shaped by both realism and Romanticism, including the influence of William Wordsworth. His work is often sharply critical of Victorian society, and it pays close attention to the changing position of rural people in Britain, especially in his native South West England.