Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

Category: Adults, Classic, Historical Fiction, Literature
Language: English
Keywords: Betrayal Farming Sheep Raising Tragedy Victorian England Wessex

Written by Thomas Hardy
Read by Jamie Parker
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

· Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
· Release date: 05-27-14
· Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

In a remote corner of early Victorian England, where traditional practices remain untouched by time, Bathsheba Everdene stands out as a beacon of female independence and self-reliance.

Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and the respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood.

However, when confronted with the Sergeant Troy, she shows a reckless capriciousness that threatens the stability of the whole community by marrying him.. Bathsheba soon discovers that her new husband is an improvident gambler with little interest in farming. Worse, she begins to suspect he does not love her. In fact, Troy’s heart belongs to her former servant, Fanny Robin.

Published in 1874, and an immediate best seller, Far From the Madding Crowd established Thomas Hardy as one of Britain’s foremost novelists. It was the first of Hardy’s novels to give the name Wessex to the landscape of southwest England and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. Set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year, the story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility.

This novel set in the English Midlands has, by its author’s standards, a relatively happy ending. At least the faithful Gabriel Oak eventually marries beautiful Bathsheba Everdene.