Tryphena Sparks

Tryphena Sparks (20 March 1851 - 17 March 1890), born in Puddletown, Dorset, the youngest child of James and Maria Sparks, was Thomas Hardy's cousin and possible lover.[1] Hardy's mother suggested that Tryphena was not actually his cousin but his niece and he was thus prevented from marrying her.[2] There are also suggestions that she had Hardy's child, a son called Randolph.[3][4][5] The relationship ended when Hardy became engaged to Emma Gifford. Sparks was the inspiration for Hardy's poem Thoughts of Phena at News of Her Death[6] in which Hardy describes her as his "lost prize".[7] She may also have inspired Hardy's story that later became Far from the Madding Crowd.[8] Other Hardy poems have been connected to Sparks, including At Rushy Pond, A Spot, The Wind's Prophecy, To an Orphan Child.[9] The character of Sue Bridehead in Hardy's book Jude The Obscure is thought to have been based on Sparks.[10]

Sparks is the subject of a number of books by author Lois Deacon, Tryphena, Thomas Hardy and Hardy's Sweetest Image and Providence and Mr Hardy published in 1966.[11]

She married Charles Frederick Gale, a publican, 15 December 1877 at Plymouth.[12] She was known in Topsham for the charitable work she did for the local fishermen.[13] She had four children: Eleanor, Charles, George and Herbert. She died from a rupture caused by childbirth and is buried in Topsham, Devon. Hardy and his brother Henry visited her grave, leaving a note saying "In loving memory -Tom Hardy".[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited - Michael Millgate - Google Books". books.google.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2014). "119-2014-02-19-Thomas Hardy.pdf" (PDF). pdf.js. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Lost Prize Randy". montford-productions.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Hardy and the Rasa Theory - Rama Kant Sharma - Google Books". books.google.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Deacon Lois (1966). Providence & Mr. Hardy. Hutchinson.
  6. ↑ Millgate, Michael Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited (2004) Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-927566-1
  7. ↑ Harvey Geoffrey (2003). Thomas Hardy (Complete Critical Guide to English Literature). Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 978-0415234917.
  8. ↑ "montford-productions". montford-productions.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Deacon Reviews". people.stfx.ca. 2003. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Rintoul M.C. (1993). Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction. Routledge. p. 850. ISBN 978-0415059992.
  11. ↑ "Rare Books and Maps - Lois Deacon Collection - Library - University of Exeter". as.exeter.ac.uk. 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015. Lois Deacon
  12. ↑ "Exeter Memories - Drakes in Topsham". exetermemories.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Cornforth, David. "Drakes in Topsham". Exeter Memories. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  14. ↑ "ThomasHardy - thomashardy.pdf" (PDF). pdf.js. 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

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