Thomas Hardy And The Law: Legal Presences in Hardy’s Life and Fiction

‘Thomas Hardy and the Law’ argues that Hardy’s extensive legal research and experience drove his writing of fiction throughout his career. The book studies Hardy’s legal research and friendships, his work as a Dorchester magistrate, actual Victorian law cases from which he drew novel material, nineteenth-century legal reform, the legal machinery of the novels, and Hardy’s position as an advocate for the reform of marriage laws.