Far from the Madding Crowd
The spirited, independent Bathsheba Everdene inherits a farm and finds herself courted by three very different men—the steadfast shepherd Gabriel Oak, the obsessive farmer Boldwood, and the dashing, faithless soldier Troy—in Hardy’s rich pastoral drama of love and consequence. Set amid the seasons and labors of rural Wessex, the novel balances romance, tragedy, and comedy with a deep feeling for the land and its people. The first of his great Wessex novels, Far from the Madding Crowd made Hardy famous. Warm yet unflinching, it is a beautifully told story of passion and endurance, and one of the most satisfying of all Victorian novels.
About the Author
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet whose fiction, set in a half-imagined Wessex, probed fate, class, and the constraints of Victorian society. His major novels are cornerstones of English literature.
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