Thomas Hardy's Wessex is the fictional literary landscape created by the English author
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
as the setting for his major novels, located in the south and
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
of England. Hardy named the area "Wessex" after
the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom that existed in this part of that country prior to the unification of England by
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first ...
. Although the places that appear in his novels actually exist, in many cases he gave the place a fictional name. For example, Hardy's home town of
Dorchester is called Casterbridge in his books, notably in ''
The Mayor of Casterbridge
''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in ...
''. In an 1895 preface to the 1874 novel ''
Far From the Madding Crowd'' he described Wessex as "a merely realistic dream country".
The actual definition of "Hardy's Wessex" varied widely throughout Hardy's career, and was not definitively settled until after he retired from writing novels. When he created the concept of a fictional Wessex, it consisted merely of the small area of Dorset in which Hardy grew up; by the time he wrote ''
Jude the Obscure
''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). It is Hardy's last completed novel. The protagonist, Jude Fawley ...
'', the boundaries had extended to include all of
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, established_date = Ancient
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,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, much of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, and some of
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, with its most north-easterly point being
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(renamed "Christminster" in the novel).
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
was also referred to but named "Off Wessex". Similarly, the nature and significance of ideas of "Wessex" were developed over a long series of novels through a lengthy period of time. The idea of Wessex plays an important artistic role in Hardy's works (particularly his later novels), assisting the presentation of themes of progress, primitivism, sexuality, religion, nature and naturalism. However, this is complicated by the economic role Wessex played in Hardy's career. Considering himself primarily to be a poet, Hardy wrote novels mostly to earn money. Books that could be marketed under the Hardy brand of "Wessex novels" were particularly lucrative, which gave rise to a tendency to sentimentalised, picturesque, populist descriptions of Wessex (which, as a glance through most tourist giftshops in the south-west reveals, remain popular with consumers today).
Hardy's resurrection of the name "Wessex" is largely responsible for the popular modern use of the term to describe the south-west region of England (with the exception of Cornwall and arguably Devon). Today, a panoply of organisations take their name from Hardy to describe their relationship to the area. Hardy's conception of
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
as a separate, cohesive geographical and political identity has proved powerful,
although it was originally created purely as an artistic conceit, and has spawned a lucrative tourist trade, and even a devolutionist
Wessex Regionalist Party
The Wessex Regionalists are a minor English regionalist political party in the United Kingdom. It seeks a degree of legislative and administrative home rule for Wessex, an area in the south and south-west of England loosely based on the Anglo-Sax ...
.
Thomas Hardy's Wessex names
Wessex regions and actual English counties
(Note: The
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, although today a separate administrative county, was considered to be a part of the county of Hampshire – and thus Upper Wessex – during Thomas Hardy's lifetime. Likewise, Alfredston (
Wantage
Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...
) and the surrounding area in North Wessex was part of Berkshire prior to the 1974 boundary changes but now lies in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
.)
Outer Wessex is sometimes referred to as Nether Wessex.
Specific places in Thomas Hardy's Wessex
Key to references for the place name table
The abbreviations for Thomas Hardy's novels that are used in the table are as follows:
* DR – ''
Desperate Remedies
''Desperate Remedies'' is the second novel by Thomas Hardy, albeit the first to be published. It was released anonymously by Tinsley Brothers in 1871.
Plot summary
In ''Desperate Remedies'' a young woman, Cytherea Graye, is forced by pover ...
'' (1871)
* UtGT – ''
Under the Greenwood Tree
''Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School'' is a novel by the English writer Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex n ...
'' (1872)
* PoBE – ''
A Pair of Blue Eyes
''A Pair of Blue Eyes'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1873, first serialised between September 1872 and July 1873. It was Hardy's third published novel, and the first not published anonymously upon its first publication. Hardy includ ...
'' (1873)
* FftMC – ''
Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1874)
* HoE – ''
The Hand of Ethelberta
''The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for ''The Cornhill Magazine'', which was edited by Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 2 ...
'' (1876)
* RotN – ''
The Return of the Native
''The Return of the Native'' is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine ''Belgravia'', a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Be ...
'' (1878)
* TM – ''
The Trumpet-Major
''The Trumpet-Major'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy published in 1880, and his only historical novel, and Hardy included it with his "romances and fantasies". It concerns the heroine, Anne Garland, being pursued by three suitors: John Loveday, the e ...
'' (1880)
* L – ''
A Laodicean
''A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the De Stancys. A Story of To-Day'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1880–81 in ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine''. The plot exhibits devices uncommon in Hardy's other fiction, such as falsified te ...
'' (1881)
* ToaT – ''
Two on a Tower
''Two on a Tower: A Romance'' (1882) is a novel by English author Thomas Hardy, classified by him as a romance and fantasy it is one of his minor works. The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, set in late Victorian Dorset.
Epigraph
Hardy plac ...
'' (1882)
* MoC – ''
The Mayor of Casterbridge
''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in ...
'' (1886)
* W – ''
The Woodlanders
''The Woodlanders'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in ''Macmillan's Magazine'' and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Wessex novels.
Plot summary
The story takes place in ...
'' (1887)
* WT – ''
Wessex Tales
''Wessex Tales'' is an 1888 collection of tales written by English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840.
In the various short stories, Hardy writes of the true nature of nineteenth-century marri ...
'' (1888)
* TotD – ''
Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' (1891)
* JtO – ''
Jude the Obscure
''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). It is Hardy's last completed novel. The protagonist, Jude Fawley ...
'' (1895)
* WB – ''
The Well-Beloved
''The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It spans forty years, and follows Jocelyn Pierston, a celebrated sculptor who attempts to create in stone the image of his ideal woman, while he tries also to find her i ...
'' (1897)
* WP – ''
Wessex Poems and Other Verses'' (1898)
Table of Wessex place-names, their actual places, and their appearance in Hardy's novels
In art and books
Artists such as
Walter Tyndale,
Edmund Hort New,
Charles George Harper and others, have painted or drawn the landscapes, places and buildings described in Hardy's novels. Their work was used to illustrate books exploring the real-life countryside on which the fictional county of Wessex was based:
*B. C. A. Windle &
E. H. New (ill.).
The Wessex of Thomas Hardy' (London, New York, J. Lane, 1902).
*
Charles G. Harper.
The Hardy country; literary landmarks of the Wessex novels' (London, A. & C. Black, 1904).
*Clive Holland.
Wessex' (A & C Black, 1906).
*
Sidney Heath.
The Heart of Wessex' (Blackie & Son, 1910?).
*Charles G. Harper.
Wessex' ("Beautiful Britain", London: A. & C. Black, 1911).
*
R. Thurston Hopkins & E. Harries (ill.).
Thomas Hardy's Dorset' (New York: D. Appleton and co. 1922).
*Hermann Lea.
Thomas Hardy's Wessex' (London, Macmillan and co. 1911).
*Ralph Pite, ''Hardy's geography: Wessex and the regional novel''. Palgrave, 2002.
*Andrew D. Radford, ''Mapping the Wessex novel: landscape, history and the parochial in British literature'', 1870–1940. (London; New York: Continuum International Pub., 2010.
*
Walter Tyndale.
Hardy country water-colours' (A & C Black, 19??).
*Barry J Cade.
Thomas Hardy's Locations' (Casterbridge Publishing Limited 2015) A full colour tourist guide to the places Hardy had in mind when he wrote "The Mayor of Casterbridge" and "Far from the Madding Crowd."
References
External links
Birgit Plietzsch, "Maps of Wessex" (archived page retrieved from University of St Andrews web page)Dana Huntley, "Thomas Hardy’s Wessex Country". British Heritage Travel page, 27 January 2021"Hardy's Wessex", Dorset Guide"Hardy's Wessex", The Thomas Hardy SocietyCeri Hunter, "Where is Thomas Hardy's Wessex?" The National Trust
{{Thomas Hardy
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
Hardy's Wessex
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