About the Society

The Thomas Hardy Society is an educational Charity founded in 1968 with the intention of promoting public knowledge and understanding of the life and works of the Dorset poet and novelist to anyone with an interest in Thomas Hardy anywhere in the world. It is a Society as much for the lay-enthusiast as the scholar, student or general reader.

The Society is run by a Council of Management, which meets regularly in Dorchester, and has an office in the Dorset County Museum, staffed by volunteers. The Council of Management organizes an ongoing Programme of Events including regular lectures, concerts, poetry readings and guided walks through Hardys Wessex. Every year a special Birthday Weekend celebration is held on the weekend closest to Hardys Birthday (June 2nd); here, amongst other events, on the Saturday Dorchester Town Council pay tribute to their most famous citizen and on the Sunday a special service is held in Hardys home church at Stinsford.

The Societys major event is the biennial International Thomas Hardy Festival and Conference, held in Dorchester over a 10-day period, usually at the start of the summer holidays. The Society originated from the first Thomas Hardy Festival held at Kingston Maurward in 1968 to mark the 40th anniversary of Hardys death. The current Conference and Festival is a vibrant mix of all things Hardyan, attracting delegates from every corner of the globe. A strong programme of lectures by leading academics is interspersed with poetry readings, seminars, research papers, concerts both classical and in the folk tradition, specially commissioned dramatic productions and operas, and church services. There is a strong postgraduate student presence at the Conference including a series of postgraduate presentations. The conference includes a wide-ranging daily selection of walks, coach trips and tours into Hardy Country. Overall, it acts as a melting-pot for all things Hardyan where scholars and lay-enthusiasts can meet on equal terms to discuss and enjoy every aspect of Hardy, the novelist, poet, literary genius and the Wessex of his creation. Celebrated Hardy enthusiasts who have appeared at the biennial Festival include Claire Tomalin, Sir Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate, the famous actor Terence Stamp, and the Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson MP.

As well as holding events in and around Dorchester, the Hardy Society frequently visits that wild weird western shore Hardys Lyonnesse (Cornwall), holds an annual London lecture at Birkbeck University, an annual Study Day at The Corn Exchange, and has held meetings in recent years at both Oxford and Cambridge. The Society also has an active Postgraduate branch, and a vibrant social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter.

The Society publishes its own journal with three editions per annum two Thomas Hardy Society Journals and an autumn Thomas Hardy Journal, the latter containing a greater academic content. The Society produces a range of booklets and leaflets, along with an impressive array of Hardyan merchandise.

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Society calendar

Upcoming events

Tess, a feminist vision of Thomas Hardy's classic novel

From 31/01/2024 until 24/06/2024
All day event

Book Launch | Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses by Paula Byrne

On 09/05/2024
Starts 18:30 until 20:30

In the Footsteps of Thomas Hardy

On 12/05/2024
Starts 14:00 until 16:00

Thomas Hardy Society Birthday Weekend

From 01/06/2024 until 02/06/2024
Starts 11:00 until 20:00