A Global Hardy

Abstract

Abstract‘A Global Hardy’ seeks to situate the fiction of Hardy's Wessex in a network of international exchange. It explores the part played by empire in his fiction, the value he placed on cultural dialogue, his objections to imperialism and patriotism, and the modernist multiplicity of perspective to be found in The Dynasts, as well his awareness of the limits of moves between languages and cultural contexts. In examining the circulation of Hardy's work, it pays particular attention to his navigation of copyright issues and his engagement with translators around the world as his work reached audiences beyond Europe and North America, including Russia, China and Japan. Illuminating the multiplicity of Hardy's work, as scholars, researchers and translators take Hardy Studies in new directions, the project explores ways in which his work has found new audiences in the past one and a half centuries.