 The character of Sue Bridehead in Hardy's book Jude The Obscure is also thought to have been based on Sparks and in the book's preface Hardy says that the circumstances of the novel had been suggested by the death of a woman in 1890.Sparks is the subject of ten separate 1960s publications by author Lois Deacon including "Tryphena", "Thomas Hardy and Hardy's Sweetest Image" and "Providence and Mr Hardy" published in 1966.Having attended Stockwell Training College from 1870 to 1871, Sparks became headmistress of Plymouth Day School in 1872.