THOMAS HARDY (1840–1928) was an English author and poet best known for his literary masterpieces Jude the Obscure, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. While he achieved success during his lifetime for his novels, Hardy considered himself first and foremost a poet, and his poetry is today recognized as a significant influence on the Movement poets of the 1950s and 1960s.