Unexpected Elegies

When Emma Hardy died in 1912, her husband, the great novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, began to write Poems of 1912 13, a series of elegies that are among the most moving in the English language. Although the couple had been estranged for years, after her death Hardy fell under Emma s spell again and was enthralled by her as he hadn t been in decades. He transformed his hopelessly revived love into poetry, pouring out his yearning and passionate attachment to a love forever lost. Poems of 1912 13 and the other elegies about Emma included in this volume have been read and discussed by poets and scholars for almost a century but never collected in their own book. Their accessibility, emotional power, and focus on the mysterious complexities of marriage make them of interest to a broad public. Readers will cherish this beautifully produced, illustrated volume of poetical testaments to enduring love."