Editing Thomas Hardy (section)

=== Hardy and the theatre ===
Hardy's interest in the theatre dated from the 1860s. He corresponded with various would-be adapters over the years, including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] in 1886 and [[Jack Grein]] and Charles Jarvis in the same decade.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Thomas Hardy on Stage|last=Wilson|first=Keith|publisher=The Macmillan Press|year=1995|isbn=9780333598856|page=29}}</ref> Neither adaptation came to fruition, but Hardy showed he was potentially enthusiastic about such a project. One play that was performed, however, caused him a certain amount of pain. His experience of the controversy and lukewarm critical reception that had surrounded his and [[J. Comyns Carr|Comyns Carr]]'s adaptation of ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd]]'' in 1882 left him wary of the damage that adaptations could do to his literary reputation. So, in 1908, he so readily and enthusiastically became involved with a local amateur group, at the time known as the Dorchester Dramatic and Debating Society, but that would become [[the Hardy Players]]. His reservations about adaptations of his novels meant he was initially at some pains to disguise his involvement in the play.<ref>Wilson, Keith (1995). ''Thomas Hardy on Stage''. The Macmillan Press. p. 60. {{ISBN|9780333598856}}</ref> However, the international success<ref>Evans, Harold (1908). "A Souvenir of the Performances of the Play adapted from Mr. Thos. Hardy's Novel 'The Trumpet Major'". The Dorchester Debating and Dramatic Society.</ref> of the play, ''[[The Trumpet-Major|The Trumpet Major]]'', led to a long and successful collaboration between Hardy and the Players over the remaining years of his life. Indeed, his play ''[[The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall|The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall at Tintagel in Lyonnesse]]'' (1923) was written to be performed by the Hardy Players.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dean|first=Andrew R|date=February 1993|title=The Sources of The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45274094|journal=Thomas Hardy Journal, the|volume=9|issue=1|pages=76–89|jstor=45274094}}</ref>