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
The Guardian's 100 Best Novels Written in English Piercy. 7. The Guardian's 100 Best Novels Written in English "The Guardians 100 best novels"' is a list of the best English-language novels as selected by Robert McCrum for "The Guardian". 1. Don Quixote Miguel De Cervantes 2. Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan 3. Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe 4. Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift 5. Tom Jones Henry Fielding 6. Clarissa Samuel Richardson 7. Tristram Shandy Laurence Sterne 8. Dangerous Liaisons Pierre Choderlos De Laclos 9. Emma Jane Austen 10. Frankenstein Mary Shelley 11. Nightmare Abbey Thomas Love Peacock 12. The Black Sheep Honoré De Balzac 13. The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal