The nurturing of nature in ‘The Woodlanders’ when Giles Winterborne is planting saplings, the natural and mystical powers of Egdon Heath in ‘The Return of the Native’, or the dramatic intensity of Stonehenge in ‘Jude the Obscure’… Hardy’s characters seem to be formed by their landscape. Sadly, their marriage turned sour but when Emma died in 1912, Hardy, consumed with remorse, returned to St Juliot and wrote the Love Poems (1912-13) in her memory they are amongst the greatest love poems of the twentieth century.įor Thomas Hardy, the landscape was intrinsic to creating mood and meaning. Thomas Hardy’s third novel, ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’ (1873) is set in St Juliot and Emma was the model for the heroine of the book. Beeny Cliff, the Valency Valley and the surrounding area became the backdrop to their courtship. Other visits followed, and Hardy and Emma fell in love. Emma was living in the rectory with her sister, the rector’s wife. Thomas Hardy was a young architect working to restore the church of St Juliot when he met Emma Gifford here in the spring of 1870. This route can be found online at: įacilities: Youth Hostel, pubs, shops, toilets in Boscastle Starting point: Boscastle Harbour, P元5 0HD Terrain: Steep undulations in places, firm going That much of my life claims the spot as its key.’ ‘Why go to Saint-Juliot? What’s Juliot to me?
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