Unexpected elegies : 'Poems of 1912-13' and other poems about Emma

Here are Thomas Hardy's famous sequence of love poems, published as a book for the first time.

When Emma Hardy died in 1912, her husband, the great novelist and poet, began to write "Poems 1912-13", a series of elegies that are among the most moving in the English language.

Although they had been estranged for years, after her death Hardy fell under Emma's spell again.

He transformed his hopelessly revived love into poetry, pouring out his yearning and passionate attachment to a love forever lost.

The accessibility, emotional power and focus on the mysterious complexities of marriage make these poems and elegies of interest to a broad public.

Readers will cherish this beautifully produced, illustrated volume of poetical testaments to enduring love.