Thomas Hardy was an English poet and novelist. He was bon in the village of Upper Bockhampton in Dorset, England in 1840, His father was a stone mason as well as a violinist. His mother was an avid reader and thanks to his parents, Hardy was introduced to architecture and music and grew to love them. These interests were evident in his novels as well as the lifestyles of the country folk. So was his passion for all types of literature. Hardy taught himself Latin, German and French by reading the books he found in Dorchester, the nearby town. At sixteen, Hardy was apprenticed to a local architect but would study in the evenings with Greek scholar Horace Moule. In 1862, Hardy was sent to London to work with the architect Arthur Blomfield. For five years, Hardy studied the cultural scene in London as well as classic literature. He chose to return to Dorchester and took with him the burning desire to write Hardy's most accomplished literary works include The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Return of the Native, and Far from the Madding Crowd. Thomas Hardy died in 1928 aged 87 after a long and highly successful life. But his legacy shall live on forever.
“Government in general, any government anywhere, is a thing of exquisite comicality to a discerning mind.” Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard (1904) is set in Costaguana, a fictional South American republic with a troubled past. Both repression and revolution are written into the lives of the residents of Costaguana. When wealthy businessman Charles Gould offers his support to a ruthless Latin American dictator in the hope of advancing his own business interests, his actions trigger more chaos in Costaguana. Gould turns to the incorruptible Nostromo for help. Though Nostromo heroically saves his city from the deadly advances of revolution, a dark secret threatens to destroy his life and reputation forever. Seeped in drama and spectacle, vivid in description, and incisive in terms of social and political commentary, Nostromo is one of Conrad’s most ambitious novels. The winner of both popular and critical acclaim, this novel remains a topical read because of Conrad’s foresight, political acumen, and his gift for crafting a moving, human story set against the churnings of history.
