Wessex Poems and Other Verses

It was first published in London and New York in 1898 by Harper Brothers, and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself.

The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a (controversial) writer of prose alone.

[1] Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the (slightly bawdy) 'Bride-Night Fire'.

[3] Two notable early poems from the collection (1860s) were "Hap" and 'Amabel' - the latter exploring the theme of sexual attraction impacted by age taken up by The Well-Beloved.

[4] 'She at His Funeral' was a tribute to Hardy's friend Horace Moule;[5] while the bitter "Neutral Tones" and the cheerful 'Sergeant's Song' show further aspects of Hardy's range of poetic subjects.