What is Thomas Hardy's best novel?

As one of the most renowned poets and novelists in English literary history, Thomas Hardy's books are must-reads. With striking language he creates unforgettable characters, depicts beautiful landscapes and composes stories which manage to truly touch your heart. read more

You might also enjoy our pick of Joseph Conrad’s best novels and Dickens’s best novels. Shakespeare fans might like our 10 Shakespeare plays everyone should read. Images (top to bottom): Thomas Hardy by William Strang, 1893, public domain; Map of locations in the Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s novels (JasonAQuest), public domain. read more

Tess of the d’Urbevilles is Hardy’s best novel. It is unmatched in its presentation of tragedy, femininity, and hypocrisy. The prose is blissfully beautiful. The plot is both incredibly sad and compelling. The central characters, particularly Tess and Angel, are complex, gorgeously written, and all too real. read more

Thomas Hardy OM (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, especially William Wordsworth. read more