An architect by profession, Thomas Hardy was once regarded as the greatest living writer of fiction in the English-speaking world. He was born in Dorset, England, on 2 June 1840. Some of his most memorable works include A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873)—the first to be published in his name; Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)—his first literary achievement; The Return of the Native (1878); The Trumpet Major (1880); The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886); The Woodlanders (1887); Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891); and Jude the Obscure (1895). Hardy spoke and wrote for the masses. With an aim of realizing the truth, he captured the reality of his era in his tragic art. He breathed his last on 11 January 1928.