Moments of Revision: Thomas Hardy and the Modern Manuscript, 1890-1928

This thesis constitutes the first book-length study of Thomas Hardy’s poetry manuscripts. It argues that Hardy’s surviving verse drafts – produced during a pivotal period in the history of manuscript studies, the so-called ‘golden age’ of the transatlantic manuscript trade (1890-1929) – reflect significant historical developments in the production, acquisition, and study of literary manuscripts. Combining close textual analysis of Hardy’s drafts with a broader assessment of their significance to the field of manuscript studies itself, the project argues – taking Hardy as its central case study – for a reconsideration of the critical fertility of ‘fair’ manuscripts. With literary and textual critics having tended to favour the investigation of compositional ‘mess’, Hardy’s comparatively ‘clean’ manuscripts, home to predominantly minor revisions, have recurrently faced critical dismissal. In this thesis, however, they prove rich materials for close reading and literary historical inquiry alike. The thesis begins by introducing readers to Hardy’s surviving manuscript material, while offering an account of the longstanding critical neglect of the author’s verse proofs and drafts. Six chapters follow, split between two sections: ‘Revisions’ and ‘Receptions’. Part I, comprised of four chapters, is grounded in close textual analysis of Hardy’s manuscripts. Three of these chapters each consider a different focal point of Hardy’s verse revisions: pronouns, rhyme, and alliteration. Offering close readings interwoven with a range of contextual considerations, these chapters read the defining features of Hardy’s revisions through contemporary developments in printing, typewriting, and literary criticism. The fourth chapter then attends to the material particularities of manuscript production, moving between paper and stone in its readings of Hardy’s designs for monumental inscriptions, which are positioned alongside the poems they inspired. Part II, meanwhile, is formed of two lengthier chapters that consider the importance of Hardy’s manuscripts to two turn-of-the-century literary developments: the transatlantic manuscript trade that fuelled Anglo-American debates concerning cultural heritage, and the emergence of close reading as an academic practice. It reveals the importance of Hardy’s highly coveted manuscripts to changes in institutional acquisition practices, as well as the influence of the poet’s closely revised verse upon I. A. Richards’s practical criticism.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Dema, Eva

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Abbott, Ruth

• English Literature
• Manuscripts
• Poetry
• Thomas Hardy

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/92025a45-7fa4-4e11-b65e-75a5363e21c1/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

Author Identifier

0009-0002-7239-5614

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/396626