Reference 6 of 364 ordered by: Reference number (ascending)
Author:
Thomas Hardy
Biography Title:
The Life and Work of Thomas Hardy
Page No.:
33
Researcher:
Jane Hugen-Tobler
Publisher:
The Macmillan Press Ltd
First Published:
n/a
Clothing:
Colours:
White
Material:
n/a
Quotation:
[I, July 1856] Hardy watched a hanging through a telescope:"The sun behind his back shone straight on the white stone facade of the gaol, the gallows upon it, and the form of the murderer in white fustian, the executioner and officials in dark clothing and the crowd below being invisible at this distance of nearly three miles. At the moment of his placing the glass to his eye the white figure dropped downwards, and the faint note of the town clock struck eight."
Notes:
A few years earlier, Hardy had been close to the gallows to watch the hanging of a woman. This may have been the inspiration for his depiction of Tess's death in Tess of the D'Ubervilles.