[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-330122-105":59,"doc-detail-330122-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","thomas-hardy-behind-the-mask-authors-note","Thomas Hardy - Behind the Mask - Author's Note","","Andrew Norman traces Thomas Hardy’s life and public persona through the “mask” of shyness that shaped what could be shared with others. The narrative links Hardy’s ancestry in Dorset to key relationships, including mentors and close friends, and explains how letters, manuscripts, and personal papers were destroyed or controlled by Hardy and his wives. The book’s structure moves from early influences through major works and poems, then to late life and epilogue, guided by clues left in literary and documentary traces.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/thomas-hardy-behind-the-mask-authors-note/330122/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/thomas-hardy-behind-the-mask-authors-note/330122.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Evangeline","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What does the “mask of shyness” refer to in Hardy’s life?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"It refers to Hardy’s deliberate control over what aspects of his life were revealed to others, including avoiding publicity and slipping away when visitors arrived unexpectedly.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How did Hardy and his wives handle personal documents?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Hardy and his wives destroyed or restricted material: Emma burned many letters and papers, Hardy later burned a manuscript and most diaries, and Florence destroyed additional personal papers after his death.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What connection to Hardy’s family is discussed in Andrew Norman’s Author’s Note?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Norman’s interest is triggered by a link between his ancestors and Hardy’s Dorset family, centered on the Moule family of Fordington, near Hardy’s family home.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},330122,1790050947,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":145,"read_time":146},13056703019662,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/be000253a8e92610077?_k=1778726343310543188","THOMAS HARDY  \nOther titles by the same author:  \nTyneham: The Lost Village ofDorset (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2003) Sir Francis Drake: Behind the Pirate s’ Mask (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2004) Dunshay: Reflections on a Dorset Manor House (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2004) Enid Blyton and her Enchantment with Dorset (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2005) Thomas Hardy: Christmas Carollings (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2005) Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait (Stroud, The History Press, 2007)  \nMugabe: Teacher, Revolutionary, Tyrant (Stroud, The History Press, 2008) The Story of George Loveless and the Tolpuddle Martyrs (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2008)  \nT.E. Lawrence: The Enigma Explained (Stroud, The History Press, 2008) Agatha Christie: The Pitkin Guide (Andover, Pitkin Publishing, 2009)  \nPurbeck Personalities (Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2009) Arthur Conan Doyle: The Man Behind Sherlock Holmes (Stroud, The History Press, 2009) Father of the Blind: A Portrait ofSir Arthur Pearson (Stroud, The History Press, 2009)  \nJane Austen: An Unrequited Love (Stroud, The History Press, 2009) Hitler: Dictator or Puppet (Barnsley, Pen & Sword Books, 2011)  \nTHOMAS HARDY BEHIND THE MASK  \nANDREW NORMAN  \nHe slid apart  \nWho had thought her heart His own, and not aboard A bark, sea-bound … That night theyfound Between them lay a sword.  \nFrom the poem To a Sea Clifby Thomas Hardy  \nFirst published 2011  \nThe History Press  \nThe Mill, Brimscombe Port  \nStroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG  \n[www.thehistorypress.co.uk](www.thehistorypress.co.uk)  \nThis ebook edition first published in 2011  \nAll rights reserved  \n© Andrew Norman, 2011  \nThe right of Andrew Norman to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designsand Patents Act 1988.  \nThis ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author ’s and publisher ’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.  \nEPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 6307 0 MOBI ISBN 978 0 7524 6308 7  \nOriginal typesetting by The History Press  \nContents  \nAuthor s’ Note Foreword  \nAcknowledgements  \nMaps  \nFamily Trees  \n1. Early Life: Influences  \n2. Religion: Love: Crime: Punishment  \n3. Emma: A Successful Author  \n4. Emma Inspires a Novel  \n5. Marriage  \n6. A Plethora of Novels  \n7. Dorchester: Max Gate  \n8. Jude the Obscure  \n9. Hardy Reveals Himself in Novels & Poems  \n10. Life Goes On  \n11. From Emma ’s Standpoint  \n12. The Troubled Lives of the Giffords  \n13. The Death of Emma: An Outpouring of Poetry  \n14. Hidden Meanings  \n15. Florence Emily Hardy  \n16. Explaining the Poems  \n17. Declining Years  \n18. Aftermath  \nEpilogue  \nNotes  \nBibliography  \nAuthor ’s Note  \nMy interest in Thomas Hardy was aroused when I discovered a connection between my ancestors and the great Dorset novelist, poet and dramatist: that connection being the Moule family ofFordington.  \nFordington, which lies on the outskirts of Dorchester – Dorset’s county town – is situated only 2 miles from Thomas Hardy’s family home at Higher Bockhampton. My paternal ancestors, who were yeoman farmers, lived here, and were baptised, married and buried at its parish church of St George, by the vicar, the Revd Henry Moule (1801–80) . The Revd Moule ’s son, Horatio Mosley Moule (known as Horace), was Hardy’s mentor and also his dearest friend.  \nForeword  \nThomas Hardy was an immensely shy person, who surrounded his house, Max Gate, Dorchester, with a dense curtain of trees, shunned publicity and investigative reporters, and when visitors arrived unexpectedly, slipped quietly out of the back door of his house in order to avoid them. So that no one should penetrate this","cbCainTDZltj9oIr","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainTDZltj9oIr","pdf",1246383,156,"English","# Contents\n## 1. Early Life: Influences\n## 2. Religion: Love: Crime: Punishment\n## 3. Emma: A Successful Author\n## 4. Emma Inspires a Novel\n## 5. Marriage\n## 6. A Plethora of Novels\n## 7. Dorchester: Max Gate\n## 8. Jude the Obscure\n## 9. Hardy Reveals Himself in Novels & Poems\n## 10. Life Goes On\n## 11. From Emma’s Standpoint\n## 12. The Troubled Lives of the Giffords\n## 13. The Death of Emma: An Outpouring of Poetry\n## 14. Hidden Meanings\n## 15. Florence Emily Hardy\n## 16. Explaining the Poems\n## 17. Declining Years\n## 18. Aftermath\n# Notes","[{\"question\":\"What does the “mask of shyness” refer to in Hardy’s life?\",\"answer\":\"It refers to Hardy’s deliberate control over what aspects of his life were revealed to others, including avoiding publicity and slipping away when visitors arrived unexpectedly.\"},{\"question\":\"How did Hardy and his wives handle personal documents?\",\"answer\":\"Hardy and his wives destroyed or restricted material: Emma burned many letters and papers, Hardy later burned a manuscript and most diaries, and Florence destroyed additional personal papers after his death.\"},{\"question\":\"What connection to Hardy’s family is discussed in Andrew Norman’s Author’s Note?\",\"answer\":\"Norman’s interest is triggered by a link between his ancestors and Hardy’s Dorset family, centered on the Moule family of Fordington, near Hardy’s family home.\"}]","Thomas Hardy - Behind the Mask - Author's Note | PDF",1789987303,240]