This collection investigates the private lives and marital experiences of Emma and Florence Hardy through their personal correspondence to provide a clearer understanding of Thomas Hardy's domestic reality. Editor Michael Millgate utilizes these primary source documents to offer a scholarly examination of the two women who shared the novelist's life. By annotating and organizing these letters, the text constructs a framework that contrasts the public persona of a literary genius with the intimate, often strained, private observations of his wives.

Scholars and literary historians frequently cite this collection as a vital resource for understanding the domestic dynamics of the Hardy household. The text is noted for its rigorous editorial standards and its ability to humanize the figures surrounding a major literary icon.