Mary and Kate Hardy: Salisbury, Wessex and Beyond

Mary and Kate Hardy, sisters of the famous Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet, have featured little in books about their brother.

The story of their lives is worth telling, because of the influence it had on their brother’s writing. Their experiences at College in Salisbury, and in their teaching years in Wessex and beyond, provided him with rich material for his work.

Mary and Kate’s austere and rigorous years at Salisbury Diocesan Training College were followed by the hardship of teaching in impoverished country schools. The book explores the different personalities of the sisters and their journeys through life at a time when women were often treated unfairly and with injustice.

The book is fully illustrated, with the pictures setting the scene as much as the words.