The Wit and Wisdom of Thomas Hardy

Abstract

I begin with an anecdote told by William Butler Yeats. It will sound familiar to many readers of the biographical trivia associated with Thomas Hardy. It has been repeated in various contexts, and most recently was retold by Anne Fadiman in the pages of Civilization, the magazine of the Library of Congress.¹ In the nineteenth century, and well into our own time, before most enthusiasts of a particular book went to an official book-signing ceremony in a bookshop or a department store, readers were accustomed to write to an author, asking him (or her) to inscribe a book with a signature, and possibly a dedication as well. They enclosed the necessary postage for a return trip of the book, and hoped that it would suffice. As Yeats recounted this particular incident, Hardy took Yeats upstairs to a large room that was filled from floor to ceiling with books — thousands of them: ‘Yeats,’ said Hardy, ‘these are the books that were sent to me for signature.’