The historical Wessex of King Alfred the Great and the influential imagined concepts of Wessex developed by poet and author Thomas Hardy are the fascinating topics of this short course. Whereas the counties of Essex, Sussex and Middlesex have survived to identify settlements of the East, South and Middle Saxons in Britain, the kingdom of Wessex expanded and gave rise to England, and the land of the West Saxons today forms a number of counties in south-western England. In the late-19th century, Thomas Hardy, a writer from Dorset, brought a romanticised Wessex to public attention through his novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and today the name of Wessex again resonates in royal circles, as well as tourism and transport.
Topics: •What and where is Wessex? •Thomas Hardy's Wessex •Boundaries of Wessex Mondays 27 July - 10 August 2015 7.30-9pm Fee: $30 due by Monday 27 July (advise if attending)
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