To be Treasured

Gabriel Oak, Grace Melbury, Giles Winterborne, Miss Charmond, Angle Clare, Alec D'uberville, Marty South, by now you will have guessed that these are all characters from the Thomas Hardy novels.  Which is why I was so pleased to get a present of a collector's copy of the life and times of the great writer.
The Hardy characters formed the basis of my classes when I was with the Meath VEC and only recently a former student  Alan Hickey a teacher in St. Patrick's Classical School in Navan reminded of my take on Gabriel Oak.   'What farmer wouldn't just love to have such a reliable helper as the dependable Oak."
Hardy's characters stand out as an example to any writer trying to create, let it be the spineless Angel  Clare  in "Tess" the passionate Eustacia in"The Return of the Native"or the rude Festus Derriman in "The Trumpet Major" they are about the best company any writer could keep.