Far From The Madding Crowd

Written by Thomas Hardy

Narrated by Robert Powell

Far From The Madding Crowd is much more than a tale of rural life; at times the principal characters act madly enough to make the title seem ironic. Hardy subtly spins his story around the disruption of a small community by two differing but equally strong willed outsiders, Bathsheba and Troy. In the end Bathsheba learns from the whirlwind of passion she has unleashed and settles for the best of her suitors. Meanwhile, the beauty of the countryside and the down-to-earth attitudes of the farm workers provide a natural backdrop to the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780003092

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English poet and author who grew up in the British countryside, a setting that was prominent in much of his work as the fictional region named Wessex. Abandoning hopes of an academic future, he began to compose poetry as a young man. After failed attempts of publication, he successfully turned to prose. His major works include Far from the Madding Crowd(1874), Tess of the D’Urbervilles(1891) and Jude the Obscure( 1895), after which he returned to exclusively writing poetry.

Reviews for Far From The Madding Crowd

[rainpebble_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Far From the Maddening Crowd by Thomas HardyWhen Bathsheba Everdene, a beautiful young woman full of life inherits a farm and moves to the remote country she creates chaos in the hearts of the local men. She finds that her overseer has been stealing from the farm and fires him, determined to run the farm herself.Gabriel, a local sheep farmer who is poor but rich in integrity soon proposes marriage to her but Bathsheba refuses him. She is not in love with him though she likes him very much.Later she mischievously sends a valentine card to the wealthy farmer Boldwood. He too falls in love and becoming obsessed with her also proposes marriage. She refuses him as well for the same reason. She is not in love with him.Then a handsome and charming young scoundrel of aman, Sergeant Troy appears and Bathsheba falls madlyin love with him. They secretly wed but Bathsheba soon discovers that his one true love is one of her maids and that he is still in love with her.Bathsheba eventually learns that Sergeant Troy is an unfaithful small minded husband who can be trusted neither with her heart nor her farm. When the young maid Fanny, who loved the Sergeant is discovered dying giving birth to his stillborn child he becomes terribly and inconsolably remorseful and leaves Bathsheba.But this classic has much more to it than just the romantic interests. There is much about the farming and husbandry of those days that I found to be quite interesting. There are crops to be grown and harvested. There are also the interactions between all of the people in the novel.My least favorite character was Bathsheba herself. She was a fairly flat character and even the peasant folk seemed to have more body to them.I found this book to be lively & exciting which I know is quite the opposite of how some view Hardy's work. However I really enjoyed it and recommend it to those of you who enjoy the classics and to all Hardy lovers.

[tess_w · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second Hardy novel I have read and is very much like the first, Tess of D'Urbervilles. This novel tells the story of Bathsheba Everdeen and her trials and tribulations trying to live her life as a headstrong and ambitious woman in a Victorian man's world. However, unlike Tess of D'Urbervilles, this book has a few smiles and a positive ending. This book has little action, but is mostly about relationships.

[skullstuffing_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Quite frankly, there are better things to do (and read) with my time. I found this slow and tedious and odious and it has unfortunately put me off reading any of Hardy's works.

[bookwormjules · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book really didn?t do much for me. I adored the lovely, flowing style of writing Hardy had, the writing it self was almost poetic as the told his story, but the story it self just fell short for me. I didn?t care much for any of the characters, they bored me and I wasn?t ever interested in them at all. Most didn?t have anything catching or striking about them, just a group of people, going on with there day to day lives. The story is about the men who fall in love with a farmer woman, but even the love story it self wasn?t as I thought; it almost lacked emotion and feelings you?d expect. I also found a lot of the story to be predictable and redundant. There are only so many times you can see the same guy beg for a woman?s love and for her to turn him down. It gets boring very quickly, and you want the story to move on and progress faster than it did. Although I guess the slowness of the story can reflect the slowness of the time period, life on the farm and the close-nit community people of the time lived in. And Hardy does an excellent job at that, he is able to portray that, it just had a week cast of characters, that didn?t do much for the story, and in fact probably hindered it.There isn?t much else I can say, I?m not turned of Hardy yet, I?m going to try and read some of his other work, because his writing style is just beautiful, but this story just wasn?t me.

[wisewoman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Hardy is one of those authors whose works I do enjoy — but grudgingly. His strong descriptive powers, well-written characters, and interesting plots are all points in his favor. But there is something dark running in the vein below, a grimness that I find disturbing. As the back of this audiobook copy of Far From The Madding Crowd would have it, Hardy's sense of inevitable human tragedy was already manifesting itself in this tale. Far From The Madding Crowd tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, a beautiful and independent young woman who is sought by three very different suitors. Gabriel Oak is the first man to fall in love with her, and after her rejection he falls upon hard times and is forced to seek work as a shepherd. Of course it is Bathsheba who eventually hires him. Her second suitor is one Farmer Boldwood, a moody and passionate man who is awakened to Bathsheba's charms by a foolish Valentine's Day card she sends him, quite in jest. And the third is a dashing officer, Sergeant Francis Troy, who is as captivating and handsome as he is selfish.Hardy really takes the time to set up his characters, and they are all very well written. Bathsheba in particular is a fascinating creation. In some ways she is quite a little feminist, having no inducement to the marriage state in the abstract that would tempt her to seize the chance when it is offered her. And after she catches her bailiff stealing, Bathsheba is determined to run her inherited farm herself — an unprecedented act for a woman in that time. But Hardy was something of a misogynist, and often peppers his narrative with derogatory comments about the female sex. One such example is this:"'It was not exactly the fault of the hut,' she observed in a tone which showed her to be that novelty among women — one who finished a thought before beginning the sentence which was to convey it."Or this:"When women are in a freakish mood, their usual intuition, either from carelessness or inherent defect, seemingly fails to teach them this, and hence it was that Bathsheba was fated to be astonished today."Everything sensible and strong and intelligent about Bathsheba — and she is all of these things, despite her many faults — is presented as an aberration in her sex. I don't like to judge works by the standards of a different time, but I certainly was occasionally annoyed with this misogyny. Other times, once I understood Hardy was like that, it amused more than offended me. Hardy's deep cynicism is not just directed toward women. God comes in for a fair share of the blame; Boldwood's disastrous encounters with Troy are called "Heaven's persistent irony" toward him. It is the gargoyles on the church, monstrosities sanctioned by religion, that are responsible for the horrific accident that disfigures Fanny's grave. Because of this mutilation, Troy's half-formed good resolutions produced by Fanny's death are instantly dashed, and the fault laid at Heaven's door:"To turn about would have been hard enough under the greatest providential encouragement; but to find that Providence, far from helping him into a new course, or showing any wish that he might adopt one, actually jeered his first trembling and critical attempt in that kind, was more than nature could bear."Apparently it is God's fault for not preventing this accident from occurring, for not helping this near-penitent on his new road. Indeed, it is almost as if God wants Troy to be damned and takes active steps to ensure that it is so. This is classic Hardy. And yet religion is not portrayed in a uniformly bad light; Gabriel is observed by Bathsheba in the very act of kneeling in prayer, in direct contrast to her agitated and rebellious frame of mind. The reader is left with the idea that this bedtime prayer is a ritual of Gabriel's, and that it has a not inconsiderable share in helping him face his troubles calmly and with dignity. The focus here is on the man, however, and not the God to whom he is praying.From the first Hardy sets up his characters on a large stage, not so much in their provincial surroundings but by the literary references he uses to describe them. When Gabriel Oak first sees Bathsheba from a distance, he is pictured as "Milton's Satan" watching Eve from a bird's-eye view. When Bathsheba arouses Boldwood's interest, he is compared to Adam awakening from his sleep to behold Eve. Frank Troy is called a "juggler of Satan" by Boldwood, who is then described as "an unhappy Shade in the Mournful Fields by Acheron." Other literary references abound, especially when Hardy describes Gabriel's slow intellectual development and the titles he studies (among them Paradise Lost, Pilgrim's Progress, and Robinson Crusoe). The reader is given to understand that these few titles have a profound effect on Oak and change him from the morally pliable man of the opening chapters to something of a solid rock, dependable and upright in all he does.Despite the darker themes, Hardy is not all doom and gloom. His sense of humor is most often displayed in the rustic country folk of Wessex, whose mannerisms and foibles are treated with fond indulgence. One character, Joseph Poorgrass, suffers from what he calls "the multiplying eye" — a condition that only assails him in taverns when he's had a bit too much to drink. The relationships among these country folk are also portrayed in a comical light; one instance is the way the worthies of the village try to calm the affronted maltster by agreeing he is the oldest man they know. Young Cainy Ball's breathless recital of what he had seen in Bath is a small masterpiece of comedy, as he chokes and sprays his listeners with crumbs, and is remonstrated for his careless breathing and eating habits. Hilarious!"'Now, Cainy!' said Gabriel, sternly. 'How many more times must I tell you to keep from running so fast when you be eating? You'll choke yourself some day, that's what you'll do, Cain Ball.''Hok-hok-hok!' replied Cain. 'A crumb of my victuals went the wrong way — hok-hok!, That's what 'tis, Mister Oak! And I've been visiting to Bath because I had a felon on my thumb; yes, and I've seen — ahok-hok!'"In addition to the funny parts, there are some insightful and deftly written passages, like these:"The suddenness was probably more apparent than real. A coral reef which just comes short of the ocean surface is no more to the horizon than if it had never been begun, and the mere finishing stroke is what often appears to create an event which has long been potentially an accomplished thing.""A man's body is as the shell; or the tablet, of his soul, as he is reserved or ingenuous, overflowing or self-contained. There was a change in Boldwood's exterior from its former impassibleness; and his faceshowed that he was now living outside his defences for the first time, and with a fearful sense of exposure. It is the usual experience of strong natures when they love."I listened to this on audiobook published by Tantor Media and read by John Lee. I very much enjoyed his narration, though I did find the lengthy descriptions of nature to drag a bit. Lee's character voices are excellent, with the exception of the female characters; a deep-voiced man just can't create a believably feminine voice.I don't think I will ever enthusiastically recommend Hardy; he isn't an author whose works can really be loved, at least not by me. But they do have a quality about them that invites contemplation, mainly of the flaws of humankind and the apparently indifferent God reigning over the chaos we make of our lives. It's a different perspective for me, and one that I find deeply unattractive — and yet fascinating, in a grim sort of way. Hardy will never be a comfort read for me, but he does provoke thought, if not exactly admiration.

[dcmurrayb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mr Taylor's AP English class, 1981. Suburban northern Virginia. Alan Bates, Julie Christie in the movie. Sigh.

[tess_schoolmarm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second Hardy novel I have read and is very much like the first, Tess of D'Urbervilles. This novel tells the story of Bathsheba Everdeen and her trials and tribulations trying to live her life as a headstrong and ambitious woman in a Victorian man's world. However, unlike Tess of D'Urbervilles, this book has a few smiles and a positive ending. This book has little action, but is mostly about relationships.

[jack2410 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Why did I enjoy this story so much? Among other reasons, I could visualize easily the settings and the costumes of characters. Another reason I liked this story is that it kept me conjecturing how the human relationships--intense and serious--would resolve, even though from the start the end was quite predictable. It was the how that kept my interest. Loved this book.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Far From the Madding Crowd tells the story of beautiful Bathsheba Everdene, a fiercely independent woman who inherits a farm and decides to run it herself. She rejects a marriage proposal from Gabriel Oak, a loyal man who takes a job on her farm after losing his own in an unfortunate accident. The book is beautifully written and shows the atmosphere of 19th century England. I loved watching the relationship between Bathsheba and Gabriel evolve. Hardy does an excellent job of character and plot development. This is a story not to be missed and teaches a good lesson about being careful when you turn down your first suitor!

[maxernst11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Verhaallijn nog redelijk volgbaar, maar soms eigenaardige wendingen (cfr plots bewuste schijnvertoning van Gabriel). Essentie: jonge, arrogante, rusteloze vrouw kiest tot drie keer toe voor verkeerde man; de ?juiste? wacht deemoedig af.Visie: iedereen ondergaat zijn lot en reageert op de gebeurtenissen die hem overkomen; je eigen lot in handen nemen loopt faliekant af.Sterk beschrijvend, vooral natuuromgeving, bepaalt mee de stemming. Gabriel Oak is zoals Levin in Anna Karenina, en Valvert in Les MiserablesTroy is niet absoluut slecht, cfr berouw na dood Fanny.

[evatkaplan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WONDERFUL BOOK! Harding is a terrific writer. he is knowledgeable in so many things. he uses the biblical ideas in many of his descriptions--i.e. someone named their son Cain because she forgot who killed who?, or "it was so dark as the plague of darkness in Egypt "...A beautiful, intertwining story love story.print was very small and old English language, so hard to read

[burritapal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gabriel Oats had borrowed money to buy sheep. When his old dog George's son, through lack of talent for a sheepdog, chased 200 pregnant ewes over a cliff, he is ruined. Selling his land and his farm implements allows him to pay his loan, he is left with the clothes on his back, so he travels to a hiring fair to get work. He is surprised to find that his unrequited love's uncle, who has a farm in the area, has died, and she has inherited it. He becomes her employee, a mere shepherd, though he is qualified to be the bailiff (overseer). Bathsheba is beautiful and vain and foolishly falls in love with a conman Sergeant. He ruins her, meanwhile she ruins a wealthy farmer who also loves her, making him lose his mind. Meanwhile, steadfast Gabriel stands by her, the ultimate gentleman.
Hardy's talent with a pen creates vivid scenery in the reader's mind, in the southwest of England that is the setting for his stories. His characters are written so realistically, that I became emotionally involved in them, becoming frustrated with bashsheba, cheering for Gabriel, and hating Sergeant Troy. This is a reread.

[ghost_boy-691444 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall I kind of liked this, thought the modern movie I saw was better. The problem is it was hard for me to get use to Thomas Hardy's writing, that's not a bad thing, he's just different than I'm use to and it read like poetry. I would like to read his other books, although it'll take sometime.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading this book after several decades and I really, really enjoyed it. Wonderful descriptive passages, great characters with depth and subtleties and a great commentary on love and pride and vanity and need vs. want. Gabriel Oak is such a wonderful character. Bathsheba is infuriating but oh-so-real and you root for her despite herself. Boldwood, Troy, Fanny are all compelling as are the cast of characters from the farm. I'm giving it a 4-1/2 because I'm very stingy with 5s.

[pharmacdon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I initially had trouble getting into the rhythm of reading "Far From the Madding Crowd." When I got the "hang of Hardy," I really enjoyed reading the book.Miss Bathseba Everdene "scarcely knew the divinity’s name, Diana was the goddess whom Bathsheba instinctively adored. That she had never, by look, word, or sign, encouraged a man to approach her – that she had felt herself sufficient to herself, and had in the independence of her girlish heart fancied there was a certain degradation in renouncing the simplicity of a maiden existence to become the humbler half of an indifferent matrimonial whole – were facts now bitterly remembered."After three men wanted to marry her, and one did, we were given the stories intertwined with that statement. They are stories that only Thomas Hardy can tell.If you need a heroine, I give you Bathseba. "Deeds of endurance which seem ordinary in philosophy are rare in conduct, and Bathsheba was astonishing all around her now, for her philosophy was her conduct, and she seldom thought practicable what she did not practise. She was of the stuff of which great men’s mothers are made. She was indispensable to high generation, hated at tea parties, feared in shops, and loved at crises."

[bananaman-17 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

SPOILER ALERT...OK, as we suspect at the outset, the good guy gets the girl in the end.We could have cut to the chase and had these two married within hours of meeting each other as seems to be the custom in his stories... but then we'd be deprived of a great read..Hardy as always, tells a good story, full of interesting characters in a wonderful rural setting. And such a way with words..That's three in a row after Tess and the Mayor and now onto the next..

[nordie_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading as part of The Hardy reading group.

It is about Bathesheba and the 3 men who love her - Gabriel Oak, Mr Boldwood and Sergeant Troy. each have their own qualities but it is Gabriel who loves her first and always. She rejects his initial marriage proposal because she does not love him.

She comes to the attention of Boldwood, who has the farm next to her, after she sends him a Valentine's card partly in jest. Boldwood has difficulty accepting that she does not love him either, but gives her up when she becomes fascinated by Sergeant Troy, the educated soldier - fey in attachment, apart from drink, gambling and women as a whole - who is more in love with another woman but marries Bathsheba more for her money than anything. She soon learns her mistake and learns to hate him, especially when he keeps asking for money to go gambling.

His possible death by drowning opens her up to be courted by Boldwood again, who continues to pressure her into committing to marry him, even when he knows she doesn't love him. A party at Christmas has a detrimental effect on all concerned.

Finally, Gabriel, her one true love, gets his girl.

This is the fourth of his books and the one I've enjoyed the most so far. It has a more consistent narrative, with fewer breaks, even though I believe this was also released in serial form.

The descriptions of nature get better with this book. I believe the description of salvaging the crops during the storm is considered to be a classic scene of the genre.

Boldwood is a disconcerting and not very nice character, poor of social graces, who falls in love with a woman he's never talked to and virtually bullies her into committing to an engagement that she doesnt want. (Everyone agrees in the end that he's more than a little mad).

Troy is a glittering distraction, who can also manipulate women (but in a different way), playing on Bathesheba's insecurities in order to make her marry him immediately (she goes to Bath to talk to him and he "suggests" that he'll have to give in to chasing after some other pretty girl if she doesnt marry him immediately, so she does).

Gabriel is solid and steady, watching her make mistakes but never letting her down, even though he still loves her.

As for Bathesheba? I dont know about her. I think she grows up during this book, finally marrying the man we all know she should have in the first place. She manages to take care of her uncle's farm, even though some people think she wont and does realise her mistake in marrying Troy, especially the way she did it.

[doryfish-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've only read three of his books now, but I kind of love Thomas Hardy. Because he gets it. He gets how shitty social and moral conventions are to women. Does Hardy have an avid following like Austen or Dickens? Because he totally should! I demand more Hardy adaptations!

Bathsheba Everdene - what an awesome name - is a beautiful, intelligent, confident, and fiercely independent young woman. Upon inheriting her uncle's farm, she moves to Weatherbury, where she attracts the attention of three very different men: loyal shepherd Gabriel Oak, reserved farmer William Boldwood, and dashing soldier Francis Troy.

There are so many vividly drawn scenes - for instance, Bathsheba falls for Troy after he gives her a display of his swordsmanship. (How perfectly Freudian!) And Bathsheba is just such a wonderful character, female or otherwise. She makes her own decisions, some of which are mistakes, but she is strong enough to own to those mistakes and grow from them.

Hardy is truly one of the masters of his craft. Despite his books' gloomy reputations, he has a sense of humor that shines through. And I'm not a fan of descriptive prose, but his is gorgeous without being self-indulgent. I also learned more than I ever wanted to know about raising sheep and what can go wrong. (I admittedly did tune out whenever architecture or farming practices came up, but those passages don't last long.) I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of the marriage plot and/or soapy Masterpiece Theater productions.

[lindaloretz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed a classic

I read this to participate in a local library's book discussion and I'm glad I did. Although I struggled through some of the early chapters, this story of a woman who was independent in an era when it wasn't acceptable or understood will stick with me for a long time. There's a reason why a classic is timeless--this one shows raw human emotions from so many angles.

[drfuriosa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautifully written novel this was! Hardy explores the dynamics of marriage, courtship, and selfhood through the three suitors of Bathsheba Everdene, and explores the long-standing consequences of the small and large choices we make. This was a thoroughly engaging read for me.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My second visit to beautiful Dorset over this glorious Easter holiday has been accompanied by reading my second Thomas Hardy novel. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Mayor of Casterbridge, but Far from the Madding Crowd is still a solid and enjoyable novel rooted in the rhythms and ways of life of 19th century Dorset, being the first of Hardy's Wessex novels. Bathsheba Everdene is an independent-minded young woman making her way in the male-dominated rural life of the time, after inheriting her uncle's farm on his death. Yet, as the object of three very different men's differing forms of love, she still shows a headstrong and even reckless side, for example when she sends a joke Valentine's card to middle-aged and confirmed bachelor farmer Boldwood, which ignites an obsession with him as he refuses to accept its light hearted motivation. She marries soldier Frank Troy, but their marriage is not a success and he disappears. It is shepherd Gabriel Oak whose loyal and steadfast devotion to her as his employer wins her love in the end, after a final explosive confrontation between Boldwood and a returned Troy. Other memorable characters include Fanny Robin, Troy's former sweetheart, who dies in the workhouse pregnant with his child. A very good read, though lacking the plot-driven narrative of Mayor of Casterbridge.

[danielstj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Nothing special.

[weeturtle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good, well written book, as to be expected from a literary figure, but it's not something I would read again for entertainment. It's sometimes hard to review a book read for school purposes, as there was no reason of my own to draw me to it, and therefore no expectations. I have heard though, that this is Hardy's most "positive" work, which makes me leery of the rest of his stuff.The strong point in this book would have to be the characters. Things happen day to day, as the characters go about their lives. Sometimes there is an event of some significance, and there are definitely moments that steer the course of the story and the character's lives, but everything does to a point. We see what these character's personalities and actions get them into, and what comes of it. It's a book to read when you want to read about people rather than plot.

[nittnut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Which would you rather have? Burning passion or constant loyalty?

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After reading many contemporary novels, Clock Dance the most recent,it is so good to be in the hands of a master again!Everything - plot, character, moods, tone, point of view, and so gloriously, the settings - is finely tuned and precisely and beautifully delivered.The only development that, to me, never got fully resolved was Boldwood (now, there's a name to live up to!) capitulating so quickly to Falling In Love.It would have seemed more in tune with his character to stay distant for a little longer until he could comprehend the nature of both his ownfeelings and Bathsheba's responses. Far From The Madding Crowd certainly stands as a testimonial for caution equally to lovers of both sex when Falling In Love!

[alisony-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't know what it was with this Hardy, especially as so many people give it a 5 star rating, but I felt like I was really labouring through the first half of it. It seemed to take so long for the scene setting of the three suitors before the story really got going, and compared with other Hardy novels I've loved I wasn't feeling the characters for the first 150 pages or so.Once it finally got into its stride it was standard Hardy gold - drama, tragedy, wonderful characterisation. I just wish it hadn't taken quite so long to pull me in.

[sprainedbrain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Only my second Hardy, but I think it’s safe to say I’m a fan.I loved everything about this book: the twisty story of friendship, love, and figuring life out, the character development, and especially the completely unorthodox female character that is Bathsheba Everdene. She goes from poor to rich, and from independent and brazen to lovesick and sad and then back again. So very good!

[trile1000 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A story of independent Bathsheba and the three very different men who loved her set in Thomas Hardy's Wessex. Tragic and passionate.

[sometimeunderwater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m still working my way through Hardy’s novels one-by-one, having purchased a vintage set off eBay after a few late-night drinks. This one was less depressing (Jude) and less epic (Tess) than Hardy’s best. But still a wonderful read, with caddish baddies and homely goodies. And the early twist with the sheep is better than the later twist with the marriage.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another rural story with tangled romantic relationships from Hardy. I continue to enjoy his writing greatly.