The Mayor of Casterbridge

By Thomas Hardy

One of Hardy’s most powerful novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with a shocking and haunting scene: In a drunken rage, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor at a local fair. When they return to Casterbridge some nineteen years later, Henchard—having gained power and success as the mayor—finds he cannot erase the past or the guilt that consumes him. The Mayor of Casterbridge is a rich, psychological novel about a man whose own flaws combine with fate to cause his ruin.

This Modern Library Paperback Classic reprints the authoritative 1912 Wessex edition, as well as Hardy’s map of Wessex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 29, 2005
• ISBN: 9780553902136

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is best known for his novels, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895), which was denounced as morally objectionable. Hardy, disgusted with this reaction, declared he would never write fiction again and devoted the rest of his literary career to poetry.

Reviews for The Mayor of Casterbridge

[eilonwy_anne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so very well written that many aspects of it seem to me to verge on perfection. It springs to mind a hundred times in discussing writing craft, in discussing what a story should do, how framing can work, or indeed, when contemplating John Gardner's theory that novellas at their best have a "glassy perfection". This book manages to be an experience as well as a literary work, and the effect of its final pages is profound, worthwhile, and haunting.

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

One of the finest novels of the twentieth century, "Heart of Darkness" is a moody masterpiece following a man's journey down the Congo in search of a Captain Kurtz. I saw the loose film adaptation "Apocalypse Now" before reading "Heart of Darkness" and feared seeing "Apocalypse Now" would detrimentally affect my reading experience. I need not have worried as the two are different enough to ensure the Congo's Kurtz was still full of surprises.

[xiaomarlo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Strange and excellent. Conrad's use of the language is masterful. Full of incredible symbolism, and a very powerful anti-colonial screed.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was pretty boring. The reader was fantastic but I just never could get into the story. Not my cup of tea.

[malexmave · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much - Heart of Darkness

This is a book that is difficult to rate. On the one hand, it is very hard to read. The perspective of the book is a person listening to another person telling the story, which means that almost all paragraphs are in quotes, which can and will get confusing if the narrator starts quoting people, and gets worse once he starts quoting people who are quoting people themselves. Add to that the slightly chaotic narration, the long sentences and paragraphs, and an almost complete lack of chapters (the book is structured into only 3 chapters), and then add some jumps in causality in the narration for good measure, and you have a recipe for headaches.

On the other hand, the book has a good story. It has no clear antagonist, all characters except for the narrator are in one way or another unlikeable idiots, brutal savages (and I am talking about the white people, not the natives). It is hard to like any of them, and, strangely, the character who is probably the worst of the lot was the one I liked best, just because he was honest about his actions and did not try to hide behind concepts like "bringing the civilization to these people". He was brutal, yes. He was (probably) racist, yes. But they all are. He seems to show an awareness of his actions, of the wrongness of it, in the end, while all the others remain focussed on their personal political and material gain.

I am not a big fan of books that are considered "classics". They usually do not interest me, and being forced to read them by your teachers will probably not improve your view of the books. I am not sure if I liked this book, and that in itself is an achievement on the part of this book: I am unable to give it a personal rating compared to my other books, because it is so different.

There are many people who have liked the book. There are many who have hated it. I cannot recommend it, because I know that many people will not like it. Some would say that these people "don't get it", but that would be wrong as well. You need a special interest in the topics of the book, or a special connection to the book itself, to properly enjoy it. But I also would not discourage anyone to read it either.

It is part of the public domain, so it is free. If you are interested, start reading it. You can still shout "this is bullsh*t" and drop it at any point.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting a little more out of this. Overall, I felt it was a little lackluster. I needed more meat to the story, it lacked...... something that I can't quite verbalize. Heart of Darkness describes one captain's journey up the Congo River into the "heart of Africa." It's dark, brooding, and ominous; nothing goes according to plan. The narrator upon arriving at his African destination; has a strange fascination with a man named Kurtz, an English brute with odd ways who is no longer in control of all his faculties. Marlow, the captain, is in awe at the darkness that lurks in the jungle and in men's hearts. Sigh. I'm not doing a very good job describing it because I couldn't really get into it.

[solitaryfossil · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I finished Joseph Conrad’s novella, “Heart of Darkness” this morning. I’m really a bit Ho-hum about it, can’t really recommend it.

[firewild · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book has been recommended to me by a friend and was sitting on my to read list for years. When I saw that most of its reviews are either 5 star or 1 star I was intrigued. The book did not disappoint. Beautiful, evocative, mesmerizing, horrifying, revolting, it describes an abyss of a human soul. A story within a story, narrator's description sets the stage and his story takes you away into then disappearing and now non-existent primal world thus forcing you to see the events through his lenses.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this thirty-five years and didn’t get much out of it. After hearing Branagh’s reading, I think what I missed was not the obvious message, but the art. There is nothing like a great actor giving a great reading to bring a great work of literature to life.

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There's nothing wrong with a bit of baggy. And certainly there's little or nothing 19th century without that touch of cellulite. And that's mostly where all the masterpieces live. No waste. But no bounty either. Conrad's prose is too parsimonious for anything to get very close to masterpiece status. I like him fine but he was a writer who tied his boots too tight almost on purpose. He wrote better about the sea than anything else and yet did relatively little of it. You're right (in a tiny, limited sense) in that the strangely neglected “The Secret Agent” is probably his best - full of surprises and real pleasures - does “Greenwich” like no one ever did. But to call it a masterpiece is to seriously abuse the term. Hush my moderation, it is to take the term out the back with a baseball bat and go all Joe Pesci on its ass. His prose is the diametric opposite of gorgeous (saying so makes me sound like a Banville-admirer). His prose was bullied at school and has been keen to avoid trouble ever since. I can understand that but it don't bring me no grandeur nor frisson.I'm a big fan of “Notre Dame de Paris” (I've read it English, Portuguese and German). But obviously I’m singing its praises to avoid the lurking presence of “Les Mis”. Because it gloriously proves my point about baggy masterpieces. “Les Mis” was pissed on at the time for its vulgarity and indiscipline. This is the stuff that makes a masterpiece. “Notre Dame de Paris” is a pretty little thing, but it's a run-up, a stretching exercise before the real thing. Hugo was a looper (try “Les Travailleurs de la Mer”). He spent the spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime Commune moment eating zoo animals and banging fans. This makes him lots and lots of things. Unbaggy is not amongst them. “Les Mis” changed everything. “Notre Dame de Paris” was a cartoon waiting to happen.I'm not a fan of everything books-wise. And I also don't want to scatter the masterpiece medals too liberally. Though I admire some people’s generosity and enthusiasm. I'm just worried it's going to end up with J.K. Rowling as Nobel Laureate (she wouldn't be the worst). The sentiment is almost the opposite of masterpiece though. But then I'm a big fan of cowardice, so I'm bound to say that. The thing about Conrad? No funnies. Not once. Not ever. Even by accident. That's the Beckett kiss of death. I rest my case. Cry at your leisure. Don't forget, I'm a Conrad fan.And I wouldn't dream of hurting someone, but look me right in the eye and tell me “Les Mis” is not baggy. Remember the chapter about the joys of human shit? Not even the tiniest bit discursive, that one? Really?

[hobbitprincess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Inspired by the Great American Read list, I thought I would give this novella a try. I'd not read it in any of my English classes. I found the book interesting but disturbing in places. I had to consider the time in which it was written. There isn't a lot of political correctness in here. Marlow, the narrator, is given the job of piloting a boat up the Congo. He reflects on what he sees, his frustrations with the journey, and the man he finally meets in the end.

[addunn3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I finally read it! Beautiful, heavy tale of obsession.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

One word to describe this book - woof. It isn't a story as much as an author's attempt to use metaphors and colorful language to make a point in 100 pages that could have been made in half of that. The basics of the book is that a man is telling his story of a trip to Africa for a company and he meets a white man who is kind of worshiped by the ignorant black people.

This is not a page turner, but I am glad I read it because it is a classic due to the time period in which it was written. Will I read it again? Probably not. But as a person who studies and teaches history, it was important to get through at least once. As literature, I was not fan.

[geraldlange · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Damn good catalyst.

[laura.w.douglas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite book!

[maxernst11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Uiteraard een klassieker, maar desondanks zeer intrigerend. Sterk accent op stemming en sfeerschepping: duister, mysterieus.Maar stilistisch meestal grote omhaal van woorden en daardoor niet helemaal geslaagd.Te lezen als ultieme explorie van het innerlijk van de mens in extreme omstandigheden

[lord_boris-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The longest 100 pages I have ever read. After several abandonments over the years I managed to discipline myself to stick with it. Allegorical and dense prose, dealing with imperialism, exploitation, racism and moral corruption. However, not much actually happens to a handful of characters none of whom I could readily empathise or care for. It was a struggle. That said, having finished it several days ago the story and fundamental imagery has stuck with me. Initially gave this 2 stars but upped it to 3 as there is something about this book that is quite haunting and it probably deserves another read and a better understanding.

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is short novel (~100 pages), following an adventure up the Congo to the deepest darkest part of Africa. It is set in the 19th Century when the continent was relatively unknown to European explorers. The main character Marlow is from London, and he narrates his adventure, starting from the time when he decides he wants to explore the continent (being interested in maps from a young age), through his finding a job as a steamboat pilot, and the ensuing voyage. The company employing him has set up stations along the river, with the object of trading and obtaining ivory from the natives. The adventure reaches its finale after he finds the final station and realises what has been going on there.Though this obviously deals with colonialism and imperialism, what is perhaps a more dominant theme is the banality of evil, and the psychology of being in an extreme and often alien environment. Conrad, despite English not being his native language, writes in a finer literary style than many of his contemporary English language novelists of adventure. Indeed, his use of English here being subtly non-native provides some quite expressive and poetic turns of phrase, which in a sense heighten the exotic atmosphere and the sense of strangeness. This is very easy reading, and highly recommendable due to both its depth and its compactness.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second time I've started this book. I tried to read it in my late teens but could not deal with the brutality toward the Africans by the Europeans. I'm not sure that the "darkness" Conrad refers to is the same "darkness" I see in the book. For me this is about the attitude and actions of the colonists / company men toward the native tribes' people. But I get the feeling that Conrad's contemporary readers (at time of publication) would have been more horrified at the way Kurtz "went native" so to speak.
One paragraph did really stand out for me and in it Conrad says (paraphrase)who would we be if we didn't have the judgement of our neighbours / friends / family / society around us; if we were completely free of all expectations and only had our own morality to guide us? How many people obey the rules for fear of what society would do to them if who they really are were to show?
The darkness that will stay in my head is the wholesale destruction of a native society for greed and profit - a destruction that continues today in that area of the world.

[fuzzy_patters · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Conrad's Heart of Darkness explores the dark heart that lies within each of us and the extraordinary lengths of depravity we are willing to go to. This is mirrored in the "dark continent" of Africa in which Marlowe, our narrator for most of the story, travels as well as in the darkness within Kurtz and, to an extent, all of us. The story also left me pondering the darkness that lies within each of us and whether showing that was the purpose of opening and closing the story in London with Marlowe telling shipmates about his trip to Africa. Are any of us really better than Kurtz?

[santhony_35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Like most people, I was familiar with Heart of Darkness, both as an acclaimed work of literature and as the inspiration for the remarkable movie Apocolypse Now. For some reason, I recently decided to make an attempt at reading it, despite my concern that it was written at a level beyond my capacity to understand. Upon receipt of the volume from Amazon, I was initially under the impression that I had mistakenly ordered the Cliff's Notes version of the work. I had no idea that the book was essentially a short story, easily readable in 2-3 hours. Even more surprising, was the ease with which I was able to follow and understand the story, though admittedly written in a slightly dense prose. Perhaps this was due to having seen Apocolypse Now and being familiar with the broad outline of the story and having read other works of history on the Belgian Congo. In any event, it was a decent story, filled with some beautifully descriptive language and imagery. I must say, however, that I was not bowled over. Steamship Captain pilots a ragged boat up the Congo, accompanied by colonial agents and support staff (cannibals and other natives) in an attempt to relieve a long stranded station agent (Kurtz) who has "gone native" and become the insane source of worship for the local natives. If you've seen Apocolypse Now, you know the story, just replace the Mekong with the Congo. I go back to my first paragraph in which I related a concern over my ability to understand what is considered a classic work of literature. I fully understood it, but was perhaps not qualified to fully appreciate it.

[dougcornelius_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Darkness in the dark reaches of Africa looking into the dark souls of man seeking the unknown, but finding darkness amongst the darkness.

[thewestwing-864351 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having just read a history of the belgian Congo I think I appreciated this book far more than I would have if I didn't know the full history of the subject dealt with in the book. As I could identify characters and situations within the book I was able to relate to it more.

[hovercraftofeels · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Truly a triumph of Hardy's later works. Despite each of the main characters' personality flaws, one cannot help but become attached to their outcomes and trials. Hardy proves his mastery of the human condition in literature within the pages of this book, showing readers the perils of being obstinate, jealous, and vengeful. In contrast, readers are also shown how life can be nothing but misery for those who are meek and remain quiet when ill-treated. I do not agree that this is a parable regarding the evils of alcohol, as Michael Henchard, the main character, is not suffering because of his past drunkenness or due to the effects of remaining sober before returning to drink. This is a novel about human character and there is no teetotaller messages to be found. There really is not a dull moment throughout this novel and the parallels between the time periods are similar enough to keep even strictly anti-"Classics" readers entertained.

[bagpuss-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t entirely know how I got to my age without having read Thomas Hardy before. Quite probably it was because when I was about 14 years old, and we had a newfangled gadget called a Betamax Video Recorder, my Dad bought home Tess of the D’Urbervilles for us to watch - I found it unbearably dull and therefore assumed that Hardy’s novels would be too! I was quite wrong, because from the opening scenes I loved this and was totally engaged.

Under the influence of alcohol, and following a row, Henchard sells his wife at a country fair to a bidding sailor and the wife, Susan and their daughter leave with him. On waking the next day Henchard regrets his actions but is too late to take her back. He resolves not to drink again for the number of years he has been alive – 21 - and heads for the nearest town, Casterbridge, determined to make amends and to try to become a better person.

The story then jumps ahead 20 years and Henchard is now a successful hay merchant and the town’s mayor. He befriends a Scotsman who is passing through on his way to America and persuades him to stay on and work for him. But Henchard’s past soon catches up with him when his wife and daughter return, seeking him after the sailor’s death and the world that Henchard has built up starts crashing down.

I would definitely like to try some more Hardy – although I’m still not sure about Tess!

[janoorani24 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Michael Henchard’s life in rural England at the start of the 19th century. Casterbridge was Hardy’s ninth novel, and shows the maturity of a seasoned novelist. Hardy trained to be an architect, and became a novelist gradually through self-education; he didn’t become published until he was in his 30s.Casterbridge opens with a scene at an agricultural fair where Michael Henchard, his wife, Susan and baby daughter have stopped to rest while on a journey to find work. Henchard is a farm laborer and the family is very poor. In a fit of impulsive anger and drunkenness, Henchard sells his wife to a passing sailor. Wife-selling was a method among the poor of getting a divorce in rural England, but had become very uncommon by the early 19th century, and had actually been declared illegal as a means of divorce in the 18th century. Henchard’s wife was uneducated and so believed that the sale was binding. When Henchard came to his senses the next day, he tried unsuccessfully to find the sailor and his wife. By Chapter Three, about 18 years have passed and Henchard is a successful corn merchant and Mayor of the town of Casterbridge. Susan and her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane are destitute; the sailor being thought lost at sea, and come to Casterbridge to seek out Henchard. Michael Henchard is a passionate, impulsive man. He loves intensely, but is quick to anger, and this leads to many problems in his life. Early on in the story, he develops strong and instant liking for a younger man, Farfrae, and hires him to be the manager of his business. Unfortunately this means the manager he had hired by letter, and who arrives a day later is turned aside, which has serious consequences later in the story. This is the same day that he discovers Susan and Elizabeth-Jane have come to Casterbridge to find him. Henchard stages a marriage with Susan so the townsfolk won’t know that she is actually his wife, and to protect Susan and Elizabeth-Jane’s reputations. Again, this leads to the unfortunate recanting of another marriage proposal Henchard had made to a woman on the isle of Jersey whom he had compromised in an affair before the return of Susan. This woman, Lucetta, arrives in Casterbridge after Susan’s death and falls in love with Farfrae, who had been paying court to Elizabeth-Jane. Subsequent tragedy ensues for all concerned.Henchard’s passions and impulsive anger lead him to make many mistakes, both in his business dealings and his personal affairs. All of these mistakes bring him low in life, and he loses his business, his house and all those he loved. Hardy’s telling of the story is beautifully done, with great poetry of language and use of scenic descriptions. He uses a lot of allusions to classical characters, and historic events that went over my head, but probably made sense to readers of his time. The edition I read was an Everyman’s Library edition, and contained no footnotes to help with these obscure references and with the language of the time. I read an annotated edition of Far From the Madding Crowd a couple of years ago, and wish I had had the same type of edition for this book. Even so, I greatly enjoyed the book and give it four stars.

[ncgraham_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with a shocking episode. Tired, bitter, and more than a little drunk, journeyman-laborer Michael Henchard puts his wife Susan and their daughter Elizabeth-Jane up for auction on the fairgrounds of Weydon-Priors. Unexpectedly, a sailor takes the offer, and as Susan is willing, Henchard parts with her for a mere five guineas. The next morning, realizing what he has done, he swears an oath before God to "avoid all strong liquors for the space of twenty-one years to come." Twenty years later, he has become not only the most wealthy and prominent man in the town of Casterbridge, but also its mayor. Yet shadows of his past as well as new acquaintances soon come into his life in the persons of the young Donald Farfrae, Susan and Elizabeth-Jane, and the cosmopolitan Lucetta Templeman.This being my first Hardy novel, I must say that I was very impressed with him as a writer—a presumptuous remark, I know, but while some classics are famous for great stories rather than great craftsmanship, The Mayor of Casterbridge features both. Little touches struck me throughout, such as the fact that upon their reunion, Henchard gives Susan five guineas—almost as though he is atoning for his sale of her twenty years prior! Before he was a writer, Hardy was an architect, which means that his descriptions of the structures in and about Casterbridge are both believable and fascinating. Indeed, one of the novel's most haunting passages occurs when Henchard, having learned a fearful secret, walks out by himself to the ruins of a Franciscan priory, with a mill attached to it and the gallows nearby. I would not be surprised to learn, moreover, that during that period of Hardy's life he was much around "common" folk, because his portrayal of them in this novel seems very convincing. And yet he was also extremely well-educated and well-read, quoting Shakespeare, Greek mythology, scripture, and Sir Walter Scott (who may have been an influence, especially when it comes to the conversations among the working class) with ease.Albert J. Guerard, who wrote the introduction to my edition, sees the Bible as primary literary parallel to Hardy's book, working off of Henchard's own comment "'Tis as simple as scripture history." There is a sense in which Henchard is a larger-than-life Old Testament figure, but nothing came to mind so much while I was reading as Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. At the beginning of both stories a man commits a terrible deed that will change the course of his life, then repents and tries to live a normal life (and also becomes a mayor!). And yet the outcomes are quite different, for while Valjean is able to overcome his obstacles and extend grace in turn, Henchard ultimately succumbs to the consequences of his "original sin," if you will.There is a sense in which fate is against Henchard—he himself notes that everything he does, no matter how pure his motives, comes back to cause him some grief—but Hardy also quotes Novalis in saying that "Character is Fate," so Henchard does ruin himself as well. Part of his tragedy is that there are two sides of himself that he cannot reconcile. There is the passionate, arbitrary, almost animal Henchard that we meet at the beginning of the book. And then there is the persona he creates for himself by dint of hard work over twenty years, the "Man of Character" of the subtitle. The issue is that everything he does in this guise is characterized by duty, not grace or love (he marries Susan again because he feels beholden to her, and had planned to do the same for Lucetta when he thought Susan dead). For him, these two qualities can never merge and become one.Despite Henchard's centrality to the tale, much of it is seen through Elizabeth-Jane's eyes, and it is she who dictates the central concepts of the novel. When she meets Farfrae she is attracted to him because "he seemed to feel exactly as she felt about life and its surroundings—that they were a tragical rather than a comical thing" and later she refrains from dressing too gaily because "it would be tempting Providence to hurl mother and me down, and afflict us again as He used to do." These are the sort of words one would expect to hear from Hardy, whose work has a reputation for bleakness, and yet by the conclusion Elizabeth-Jane has changed her mind a little about these things, as is evident from the novel's final words. It seems to me that Hardy is using her to say that despite the sins of our fathers, so powerfully encapsulated by Henchard, there is hope for the future.In passing, I must commend Pocket Books for their Enriched Classics edition. Not only does it feature eye-catching and unconventional cover art, but the Reader's Supplement is a splendid companion to the text. As well as specific notes, it features a whole essay regarding the tale's backgrounds, and pictorial examples of some nineteenth-century fashions and architectural features that have since become obsolete.Though (as my father says) one could not read Hardy back-to-back for the sake of one's good humor, I'm looking forward to trying more of his novels in the future, as well as the ITV adaptation of Mayor.

[kimmr_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Michael Henchard, who sells his wife and infant daughter for five guineas while drunk at a local fair. The consequences of this one impulsive action haunt his life thereafter. Henchard is a tragic figure, doomed not only by the character flaws of which he is only too aware, but also by a malignant, inescapable fate.

Hardy's writing is breathtaking. The novel is full of stunningly beautiful descriptive language. Hardy paints vivid pictures with words, bringing both characters and setting to life. It's a novel full of memorable characters. Henchard is the most striking, but in their quieter way Donald Farfarie, the Scotsman who wins and then loses Henchard's affection, the good and long-suffering Elizabeth-Jane and the complex Lucetta are also compelling, as are the secondary characters who form the chorus.

This is an intensely sad novel. It had the same effect on me as a Greek or a Shakespearean tragedy: you know it'll end badly, no matter how hard the characters try to avoid their fate. And I ached for Henchard, a man who desperately wants to find redemption, even when pride, arrogance, temper and impulsiveness undo him at every turn.

I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Simon Vance. He does a magnificient job, particularly with Henchard and Farfarie, although (in common with most male narrators) he struggles with young female voices.

It appears that I've turned into a huge Thomas Hardy fan after steafastly avoiding his novels for more than thirty years. Who'd have thought?

[mrafael_63 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think there are some reviewer who don't understand the Victorian respectability theme that plays in all of Hardy's novels. The Mayor is extreme in the pitting of raw human emotion against respectability. Hardy's characters are emblems of the age he depicts. He didn't intend to write pot boilers. Hardy was focusing on the the fault line between the desire for recognition and human honor, This is a rewarding read for the astute reader. Not to be be missed.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In a prologue like first chapter, a drunken Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to the highest bidder, and the woman and girl go off with a traveling sailor. The rest of the book takes place many years later. Henchard has managed to rise to be a wealthy and prominent citizen of Casterbridge, and is the Mayor. Then his long gone wife and daughter return unexpectedly. Also involved are a briliant and charming young Scotsman and a woman from a nearby town that Henchard took advantage of for his pleasure. The story is sad on many levels, with all characters getting their turn to share in the misery.