Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Thomas Hardy set all of his poetry in a semi-fictional area called Wessex that corresponded to a real area of southwest England. So… why not just set it in southwest England? (Source.)
Hardy was a late bloomer. The guy didn't actively write or publish poetry until the late 1890's, and by then he was well into his fifties. (Source.)
Hardy's second wife Florence decided that Hardy's heart should be buried with his first wife and the rest of his remains (cremation ashes) were kept in "Poets' Corner" of Westminster Abby. That's… love… we guess. (Source.)