This third collection in the Family History Series (Jane Austen and the Brontes have already been published), is a five-volume set which looks at the cultural and biographical background to Thomas Hardy, embracing rare and out-of-print books, pamphlets and journal articles.Together these original sources include important writings and interviews on Hardy by family and friends, covering his life and relationships, his intellectual and musical background, his family background and their homes and haunts. It provides an invaluable amount of hard to find material for any serious Hardy scholarship.