Wessex in classical heraldry and is found on a number of church windows in derived shields such as the Arms of the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey, which was founded by the king). At its greatest extent Wessex encompassed the modern areas of Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset and Wiltshire, as well as the western half of Berkshire and the eastern hilly flank of Somerset. This covers an area of about . The English author Thomas Hardy used a fictionalised Wessex as a setting for many of his novels, adopting his friend William Barnes' term "Wessex" for
Kevin Major Kevin Major Kevin Major (born September 12, 1949) is a Canadian author who lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador with his wife. He writes for both young people and adults, including fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry, and plays. Major was born and raised in Stephenville, Newfoundland. He later moved to St. John's where he attended Memorial University. Before becoming a writer, he taught school in several parts of the province, including the Eastport Peninsula in Bonavista Bay. His early novels are known for exploring issues of adolescence and the family. They were usually set on the Island of Newfoundland. In