Thomas Hardy and the church

Thomas Hardy and the Church traces the development of Hardy's attitude towards Christianity as expressed in his use of the motifs of church architecture, religious music and ritual, and the characters of clergymen. Its argument firmly rooted in a wealth of documentary evidence, the book underlines the significance of the tension that existed between Hardy's aesthetic and emotional attachment to the Christian tradition he inherited, and his inability to accept the ontological essence of that tradition. In consequence, Hardy's views shifted from a largely automatic acceptance of Christianity in his youth, through the careful reserve of the early years of his literary career and the critical outspokenness of his middle period, to a recognition, towards the end of his life, of the role religion can play as a guardian of moral values and as a cohesive force in the development of modern society.