Thomas Hardy saw himself, first and foremost, as a poet and he composed poetry throughout his prolific and acclaimed novel-writing years. In 1896, dismayed by the criticism he received on publication of Jude the Obscure, he astonished his worldwide readership by announcing that he would write no more novels. From 1898, until his death in 1928, Hardy published eight volumes of poetry - beginning with Wessex Poems and Other Verses - and this entirely new selection gives us the best from each volume. Now regarded as a bridge between the Victorian era and Modernism, his poetry is lyrical and soul-searching with subjects ranging from the poignant grief at the death of his wife to his experiences of war.