Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), enduring author of the twentieth century, wrote the classics Jude the Obscure, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and many other works. Ralph Pite is the Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies and Professor of English at the University of Bristol, where he has taught since 2007. He is the author of Thomas Hardy: The Guarded Life, Hardy's Geography: Wessex and the Regional Novel, and The Circle of Our Vision: Dante's Presence in English Romantic Poetry. His edited or co-edited works include Romans and Romantics, W. S. Graham: Speaking Towards You, Lives of the Great Romantics: Coleridge, and The Divine Comedy: The Vision of Dante.