Hardy's Women: Double Bill

Paula Byrne takes readers on a journey through the defining moments of Hardy's personal and creative life, from his haunting fascination with a public hanging to the tender yet unfulfilled loves that coloured his poetry, and the realities of nineteenth-century working women who, in many ways, mirrored the resilience of his fictional heroines. Paula will talk about what inspired her to research Hardy and the other subjects of her biographies, as well as her life, career and the projects she is currently working on. Tess's Sisters: Songs of the Working Women of Hardy's Wessex performed by Caroline Butler & Dave Townsend of The Mellstock Band Voices, Concertina & Fiddle. Tess's Sisters is a concert of songs and instrumental music, linked by spoken extracts from Hardy's works and other writings and documents, celebrating the vigorous tradition Hardy knew, bringing to life the songs and stories of the rural working-class women of nineteenth-century Dorset.