ABSTRACT
Roy D. McNutt He never even referred to that which had brought him greatness – he never mentioned his writings – until I asked him which was his favourite story of all his novels. His reply was, A Pair of Blue Eyes, and I think he counted this his favourite because it contains some of his own life story. Mr Hardy was more inclined to talk of Jane Austen’s books than of his own. He said that Mrs Hardy and he had been lately reading together Jane Austen’s stories, and found them more delightful and refreshing than ever. When I mentioned that some phrases in his writings were legal terms, and enquired whether he had ever studied law at any time, he replied, with a smile, ‘No, for if I had, I would have known more about the law of copyrights, which I had to learn by experience, to my cost’.
