Thomas Hardy's Wessex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The English author Thomas Hardy set all of his major novels in the south and southwest of England. He named the area "Wessex" after the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom that existed in this part of that country prior to the Norman Conquest. Although the places that appear in his novels actually exist, in many cases he gave the place a fictional name. For example, Hardy's hometown of Dorchester he called Casterbridge in his books, most famously in the Mayor of Casterbridge.
Contents |
[edit] Thomas Hardy's Wessex Names
[edit] Wessex regions and actual English counties
| Region of Wessex | Actual English County | Position on Map |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Wessex | Devon | 9 |
| Mid Wessex | Wiltshire | 37 |
| North Wessex | Berkshire | 2 |
| Outer Wessex | Somerset | 30 |
| South Wessex | Dorset | 10 |
| Upper Wessex | Hampshire | 14 |
(Note: The Isle of Wight, which is a separate English county, was considered to be a part of the county of Hampshire - and thus Upper Wessex - during Thomas Hardy's lifetime)
[edit] Specific places in Thomas Hardy's Wessex
[edit] Key to references for the place name table
The Abreviations for Thomas Hardy's novel that are used in the table are as follows:
- UtGT - Under the Greenwood Tree (1872)
- PoBE - A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873)
- FftMC - Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)
- RotN - The Return of the Native (1878)
- MoC - The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
- W - The Woodlanders (1887)
- WT - Wessex Tales (1888)
- TotD - Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891)
- JtO – Jude the Obscure (1895)
[edit] Table of Wessex place names, their actual places in southern England, and their appearance in Thomas Hardy's novels
| Wessex Name | Region of Wessex | Actual Name | Appearance in Hardy's Novels |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||
| Abbot's-Cernel | South Wessex | Cerne Abbas | |
| Abbotsea | Abbotsbury | ||
| Aldbrickham | North Wessex | Reading | |
| Alfredston | North Wessex | Wantage | Jude Fawley becomes a mason's apprentice there. It is also where he works following his marriage to Arabella Donn. (JtO) |
| Anglebury | South Wessex | Wareham | |
| B | |||
| Budmouth | South Wessex | Weymouth | |
| C | |||
| Casterbridge | South Wessex | Dorchester | |
| Chalk Newton | South Wessex | Maiden Newton | |
| Chaseborough | South Weesex | Cranbourne | |
| Christminster | Although Christminister is technically not within the borders of Hardy's Wessex, as it is located to the north of the River Thames, he describes it in Jude the Obscure as being "within hail of the Wessex border, and almost with the tip of one small toe within it" | Oxford | This is where Jude Fawley goes to become a scholar, and is advised to give up his career choice. Sue Bridehead works has a job in a shop which produces religious artifacts there, meets her cousin, and is thrown from her lodgings. (JtO) |
| Cresscombe | North Wessex | Letcombe Basset | |
| D | |||
| Durnover | Fordington | ||
| E | |||
| Emminster | South Wessex | Beaminster | |
| Evershead | Evershot | ||
| H | |||
| Havenpool | South Wessex | Poole | |
| K | |||
| Knollsea | South Wessex | Swanage | |
| L | |||
| Lulwind Cove | South Wessex | Lulworth Cove | |
| Lumsdon | North Wessex | Cumnor | It is there that Jude Fawley meets up with his old teacher Mr. Phillotson again. It is where Sue Bridehead starts to work as a teacher and promises herself in marriage to Mr. Phillotson. (JtO) |
| M | |||
| Marlott | South Wessex | Marnhull | Tess Durbeyfield is born and brought up there. After becoming pregnant by Alec D'Urberville she returns to the village and gives birth to a baby boy, who dies in his infancy. (TotD) |
| Marygreen | North Wessex | Fawley | Drusilla Fawley runs a bakery there. It is the place where Sue Bridehead spent her childhood. Jude Fawley is brought there following the death of his father, and it is where he matures into a man. (JtO) |
| Melchester | Mid Wessex | Salisbury | This is the place where Jude goes to prepare himself for the ministry, and where Sue Bridehead is studing to become a teacher. The latter runs away from her school there, and later marries Mr. Phillotson in the town. (JtO) |
| Mellstock | South Wessex | Stinsford and Higher & Lower Bockhampton | Jude Fawley's father died there. (JtO) |
| P | |||
| Port Bredy | South Wessex | Bridport | |
| Q | |||
| Quatershot | Upper Wessex | Aldershot | |
| S | |||
| Sandbourne | Upper Wessex | Bournemouth | This is the place where Tess Durbeyfield lives with Alec D'Urberville as his mistress, and where she murders him upon the return of her husband, Angel Clare. (TotD). It is also the place where Sue Bridehead's freethinking friend was buried, and where she was the only mourner at his funeral. (JtO) |
| Shaston | South Wessex | Shaftesbury | Jack Durbeyfield visits the doctor in Shaston and learns that he has a bad heart. (TotD). Mr. Phillotson moves there in order to run a school. Jude Fawley travels there to see Sue Bridehead, who, married to Mr. Phillotson, is working in the town, and they flee the place together. (JtO) |
| Isle of Slingers | South Wessex | Isle of Portland | |
| Street of Wells | South Wessex | Fortuneswell | |
| W | |||
| Weydon-Priors | Upper Wessex | It is there that Michael Henchard sells his wife while he is drunk. (MoC) | |
| Wintoncester | South Wessex | Winchester |
[edit] External links
- Thomas Hardy's Wessex Research site, including maps, by Dr Birgit Plietzsch
