Jude the Obscure is the last Thomas Hardy's important novel. Jude the Obscure created storms of scandal and protest for the author upon its publication. Hardy, disgusted and disappointed, devoted the remainder of his life to poetry and never wrote another novel. Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead have both had unhappy first marriages. Then they fall in love. This is the story of their love, and the way their past returns, bringing them hope, then sadness.