Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), novelist and poet, was one of the representatives of British criticism at the turn of the 19th century. The characters in Hardy's novels are mostly from the poor peasant class, and they are often described as very pitiful. Their lives were governed not only by nature but also by strict Victorian social traditions. At the end of the 19th century, Hardy turned completely to the art of poetry, and at the same time he mastered the field of philosophical lyric poetry.
At the end of the 19th century, new literary trends prevailed, such as New Romanticism and Aestheticism. Out of dissatisfaction with the ugly reality of society, some writers turned to storytelling and fiction in their novels. Writers belonging to the new trend of New Romanticism emphasized the fiction of exciting adventures and engaging stories. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was one of the representatives of this faction. Both "Treasure Island" (1883) and "Kidnapping" (1886) made the whole country crazy. His most famous work is "Dr. Jekyll", a story about the duality of a man and his struggle between good and evil.
Aestheticism believes that artists have no other obligations except striving for beauty - "art first". The most important representative of aestheticism is Oscar Wilde (1856-1900). The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is filled with descriptions of a hedonistic decadent and divisive life, and the play Salome, which depicts the horrific abuse of an ancient Jewish woman, were both from this period. typical works.