Thomas Hardy was an English poet and novelist born in 1840 in Dorset, England. He is known for his realistic portrayals of the rural landscapes and communities of the South West of England. After working as an architect, Hardy began writing novels in the 1870s including Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. He later turned to writing poetry which explored themes of disappointment in love, the perversity of fate, and irony. Hardy had a long and successful writing career until his death in 1928 at the age of 87, after which his ashes were buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.