Thomas Hardy and the Death of Emma: What His Writings Reveal

Andrew Norman’s book is about how the great Dorset man-of-letters described, in his poems and novels, his love for Emma; but also his estrangement from her as their marriage gradually deteriorated over the years; and finally his intense grief at her death. Why did he feel such grief, given the circumstances, and how did he cope with bereavement? Finally, he reveals a liaison which Hardy had with one of his female servants, which took place at Sturminster Newton and had unforeseen consequences!

Andrew Norman was born in Newbury, Berkshire, UK in 1943. Having been educated at Thornhill High School, Gwelo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Midsomer Norton Grammar School, and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, he qualified in medicine at the Radcliffe Infirmary. He has two children Bridget and Thomas, by his first wife.

From 1972-83, Andrew worked as a general practitioner in Poole, Dorset, before a spinal injury cut short his medical career. He is now an established writer whose published works include biographies of Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Thomas Hardy, T. E. Lawrence, Adolf Hitler, Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, Marilyn Monroe, A. A. Milne, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Andrew married his second wife Rachel, in 2005.