Thomas Hardy's Pastoral (PDF)

Indy Clark teaches at the University of Queensland, Australia. His doctoral thesis on Thomas Hardy's poetry received the 2013 Dean's Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence. His other publications include: 'Imagined Villages and Knowable Communities: Work and the Pastoral in Thomas Hardy's Poetry' in Pockets of Change (2011), and articles for the Hardy Society Journal and Colloquy.

“A welcome addition to Hardy scholarship and an important corrective to its prose-centrism in recent decades. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.” (D. K. Kreisel, Choice, Vol 53 (11), July, 2017)“It engages with Thomas Hardy’s personal ambivalence related to profession and social class. … Thomas Hardy’s Pastoral is a readable and engaging reminder that Hardy’s poetry has as much to offer as his prose, if one looks closely enough.” (Melissa Shields Jenkins, English Literature in Transition, Vol. 60 (3), 2017)

“Indy Clark’s Thomas Hardy’s Pastoral is a comprehensive, constantly stimulating critical appreciation of Hardy’s rich poetry in technique and subject-matter.” (Michael Thorpe, English Studies, Vol. 98 (4), 2017)



“Clark’s approach to the subject is a complete departure from earlier treatments … . Thomas Hardy’s Pastoral is a seminal work and it is one that certainly will be considered a valuable contribution to Hardy studies and which will open new areas in Hardy scholarship. … The writing throughout this book is engaging and enjoyable … . this book is a wonderful addition to studies on Hardy’s poetry.” (Professor Paul Neimeyer, The Thomas Hardy Association’s Book Reviews, Vol. 18, 2016)



“It is critically alert, rewarding, and welcome. … The concept of ‘pastoral’, as this book shows, is elusive, contested, and historically contingent, but in Clark’s hands it provides a valuable lens through which to read Hardy’s verse.” (Phillip Mallett, The Hardy Society Journal, Vol. 12 (1), 2016)