The Poor Man and the Lady was written in 1867 and was destroyed when the manuscript was refused publication from a number of publishing houses. After a turbulent first experienced, Hardy anonymously published two novels Desperate Remedies and Under the Greenwood Tree in 1871 and 1872 respectively. His first success as a writer came in 1873, with the release of his first important work A Pair of Blue Eyes. The book was a recollection of his courtship with his first wife Emma.