Peter Parker

In life divided

Once Hardy had become a feted figure, London played an increasingly significant role in his life and imagination, according to Mark Ford

issue 19 November 2016

The ten pallbearers at Thomas Hardy’s funeral in Westminster Abbey on 16 January 1928 included Kipling, Barrie, Housman, Gosse, Galsworthy, Shaw and both the prime minister and leader of the oppposition. This distinguished gathering was not strictly necessary for the job at hand, because Hardy’s coffin merely contained his ashes — all that there was room for in Poets’ Corner.

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