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    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)
    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)
    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)
    Ebook529 pages8 hours

    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)

    By Thomas Hardy and Helen Paterson Allingham

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    Far from the Madding Crowd tells the story of the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationships - especially with her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. It is the first of Hardy's novels to be set in a fictional county of Wessex in rural southwest England. The novel deals in themes of love, honor and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth and Charles Dickens. Like Dickens, he was highly critical of much in Victorian society, though Hardy focused more on a declining rural society. While Hardy regarded himself primarily as a poet, initially he gained fame as the author of novels, including Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. Most of his fictional works were set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex. They explored tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMusaicum Books
    Release dateMay 29, 2017
    ISBN9788075832399
    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)
    Author

    Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in Dorchester, Dorset. He enrolled as a student in King’s College, London, but never felt at ease there, seeing himself as socially inferior. This preoccupation with society, particularly the declining rural society, featured heavily in Hardy’s novels, with many of his stories set in the fictional county of Wessex. Since his death in 1928, Hardy has been recognised as a significant poet, influencing The Movement poets in the 1950s and 1960s.

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    Reviews for FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel)

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      The love story of Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak the shepherd takes a long time to come to a happy conclusion. There are class prejudices and pride in the way of their happiness and Bathsheba will learn to overcome her moral issues through a series of unhappy events.The chapters are divided in twelve (as the original publication was published in twelve, monthly, episodes), following the course of a year and following seasonal changes too. This lends a more realist touch to a tale that could just be very fictional (Wessex county is imaginary).In any case, the language is simple, easy to understand and the chapters are rather short. I just wish the OUP editors would include the original Allingham pictures with the text, as they lend a more dramatic illustration to key events.
    • 4/5
      I and the others in my Book Group enjoyed Far From the Madding Crowd. It's a story of a young woman who inherits a prosperous farm in the mid-19th century in England and who isn't particularly interested in marriage, though she has three suitors. Eventually she does marry one of them, but it is a disaster because she falls for the one who is a sweet talker but doesn't have much else of value to add to the union.We were impressed with how much of a feminist theme was in this since it was first published in 1874. Not only did she eschew marriage, but the men admired her independence (and her great beauty).
    • 4/5
      A surprisingly modern tale.
    • 3/5
      Although written in 1874 this is a very modern novel as a strong women runs a farm and her life surrounded by suitors.
    • 4/5
      It's a classic innit? It really is though. I'd forgotten just how good this is. The best thing is the way it evokes rural life in the West Country in the late 18th century. Marvellous and, unusually for Hardy, with a feel good ending.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      This novel shows beauty in imperfection and mistakes like no other. Being independent means having the right to choose, and mistakes naturally will come with that right. The most important thing in life is learning how to deal with that errors. That is why i adore very much Thomas Hardy's Bathsheba and this story. The other characters are also uniquely humans. In the provincial setting that can bore certain people, i saw a great love that Thomas Hardy have inserted which is; the love of common life . That is my humble interpretation.
    • 4/5
      I have no idea why this book did not impress me quite as much as Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" or "Mayor of Casterbridge". After all, all the elements of a solid drama were there: a vulnerability of a beautiful woman precariously balanced against her stoicism, the unrequited love, sudden passion sprung as a result of a silly whim, tragic denouement for some and happy ending for others, intriguing insights into the human nature by the author... Bathsheba Everdeen and Gabriel Oak are the two co-protagonists, while Boldwood and Troy seem to be secondary characters that, to me, appear on the scene only to offset Bathsheba's weaknesses. Though Bathsheba is at the center of it all and, for a woman of that era, is certainly a redoubtable personality, Gabriel Oak seems to be the most positive and appealing character out of the four. Hardy dwells on the village life of the area, going into detailed description of nature and the colorful local characters - whose life, though "far from the madding crowd", gets suddenly disrupted by the unpredictable and volatile events. And yet, somehow, for me, neither the plot nor the deliverance of the narrative were at the level of Hardy's two aforementioned novels.
    • 4/5
      Story of Bathesheba who inherits a sheep farm in the 1800's in England. Bathsheba is a willful and independent woman determined to remain on her own. With her first meeting of Farmer Gabriel Oak, he becomes infatuated by her beauty. At this time he is on his way to prosperity and she is not much more than a hired hand. Later after the inheritance, he has lost much and she has gained the sheep farm. Upon a whim, she writes a strange note to her neighbor, Boldwood, a man who keeps to himself and seems to have no pleasures in life. The note expresses the desire for marriage but was sent anonymously. Boldwood figures out who the note comes from and he too becomes infatuated with Bathsheba. The rest of the story follows Bathesheba as she deals with both men but eventually marries a young dashing, but unfaithful, soldier Sergeant Troy. Troy has been in love with Fanny, a poor girl once in the service at the farm that Bathsheba inherits. The language is beautiful with a Shakespearean sentence structure. Not particularly as easy read, but an enjoyable one. (Read due to upcoming movie staring Carey Mulligan)
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Another great discovery ! I loved this classic, it's different from what I read before. A good portrait of the English Society, its stiff and untolerant rules against a patient soul but with a will unvincible. One of the best of the year!
    • 3/5
      All the story describe a shepherd. Gabriel Oak,whose love for Bathsheba is quiet and steady .He still loves Bathsheba from begin to the end .Before they didi not get together ,but at the end they get married .So what event makes them get married at last is the most important event .Oka loves Bathsheba ,but she did not love him before ,and she gets married with a handsome young soldier Troy.Before Troy met Bathsheba,he had a fiancee,who is Troy’s most love person .But when they have a wedding , the bride was late ,so Troy canceled their wedding After Troy and Bath sheba get married .Troy see that girl again ,but that girl died at the second day ,so Troy very sad ,and fall into river .Every body think he is died .So Bathsheba get married with a middle-aged man Boldwood ,who has never been in love before . .On their wedding ,Troy appears.So Bathsheba does not want get married with Boldwood .It makes Boldwood very angry , and he kills Troy. The result is Troy died and Blodwood go to prison. At the end,Bathsheba’s love is Dak , only he accompany with she .So they get married
    • 5/5
      Mr Taylor's AP English class, 1981. Suburban northern Virginia. Alan Bates, Julie Christie in the movie. Sigh.
    • 5/5
      Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy1874 WessexI had seen this movie in the late 60's with my grandparents. Had no idea what it was about but it's a classic. I also ordered the paperback a few months ago and haven't gtten to it. But now I have it on audio so I hope I enjoy it.Quite a different type of book subject from what I'm used to reading. Love all the descriptive details, makes me feel as if I am there.Sexual scenes. Basheba Everdeen entices 3 men in her village. A farmer Gabriel Oak falls in love with her but she is not in love with him. Liked hearing of the sheep and their routines and when Gabriel realizes something is amiss. Love hearing of the bartering to get a shepherd's hook. He finds her in a nearby town where she's become a farm owner via her uncle. She's so head strong.Soldier Frank Troy needs to have the marriage bands announced....Landowner William Baldwill-it's rumored he was jilted at the alter and that's effected him in later years...Baldwill wants to marry her but again she's not in love with him. Love the chat about molting and shearing of the wool from the sheep.Like legacy of pocket watch! I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
    • 5/5
      Loved it!! I thought this was so much better than Jude the Obscure. It took me a couple of chapters to really get into. By the middle of the book I couldn't put it down. A challenge to read because of the language and it does get pretty wordy in terms of Hardy’s description of the scenery and all... Definitely worth it though. Highly recommend to all ages.
    • 4/5
      In "Far from the Madding Crowd" we have Thomas Hardy's 1874 breakthrough publication. This was my introduction to Hardy, and I expected certain aspects of his work, and didn't expect others. For one, I didn't expect the humor that I encountered in early character descriptions, but I was not surprised by the power and depth of the story. Hardy's reputation had preceded him to that extent."Far from the Madding Crowd" recounts the tribulations of the young and beautiful - and tragically vain - Bathsheba Everdene, and the three men who love her. Or the two men who loved her, and the rake who married her, or perhaps most accurately, the rake who married her, the inexperienced man who loved her to distraction, and the one faithful stalwart who stood by her through all. For Bathsheba is the most beautiful of women, and men become entranced with her and offer marriage pretty regularly here. The force of the story flows from Bathsheba's initial vanity, her tragic and ill-advised coquetry and first marriage, and how her self-absorption leads to mental breakdown and manslaughter. Hardy presents the plot in a straightforward way, and handles Bathsheba's evolution very skilfully and realistically. The chief characters are fully-realized, memorable creatures. Oak, her constant and ultimate protector, middle-aged Boldwood, driven to distraction by latecoming first love, and the reprobate Sergeant Troy, the tragic first husband, all ring truly; we believe them and understand their motivations. I found the rabble of farm workers to bear no such distinction.I'm going to reserve judgment on whether this is where to start with Hardy. Plot-wise and resolution-wise, I was gratified by how this book ends. There is a tragic force in this narrative, and I understand it's something Hardy produced regularly. This book ends on a hopeful, life-affirming note, which by reputation, Hardy does not always employ. I'm glad I completed the exercise, but a little sorry that's what it felt like.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book and am amazed that I hadn't read it before now. It is charming, delightful and poignant all at the same time!Gabriel loves Bathsheba, pure and simple and when she turns him down he accepts it, but carries on looking out for her.She doesn't know what she wants and gets herself into a right pickle by doing the wrong thing, but Gabriel is there! She nearly loses all but Gabriel is there.Things take a dreadful turn and I won't give away any more of the story! Except to say it is well worth the read, even trying to understand the local dialect of the characters.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of a shepherd who gets turned down by the love of his life, loses his livelihood in a tragic accident, becomes virtually destitute, finds himself working for the aforesaid love of his live where he watches in almost mute desperation as she first becomes entangled with the local top man before falling for and marrying a cad and bounder who deserts her (when one day the cad and bounder’s own true love reappears pregnant with his child only to die the same night) by faking his own death and leaving the shepherd’s true love once again entangled with the local top man, but then the cad and bounder reappears at an inappropriate moment and gets shot by the local top man who is then condemned to death but has the sentence transmuted to life imprisonment on account of insanity, and so the shepherd gets to marry the love of his life.The thing is the honest, hard working shepherd; the flighty, beautiful woman; the cad and the bounder; the mentalist top man – they are all sympathetically written and likeable. The supporting cast all have lives of their own and behave normally and both have, and behave in, character. And they have fun. Quite often. Their lives happen whilst the plot unfolds. Not because of the plot, or to make the plot move on. I like these people. And the place. Not that I’d want to live there: Too much cider.The three tragic episodes – the death of the girl, the accident that puts an end to the shepherds start in life and the murder of the cad and bounder - are all told in such a way as to make you feel the tragedy emotionally, to care, to connect. It is a nicely told tale.And it has a happy ending. The newly married couple send ‘a bit of something’ down to the pub so the locals can have a piss up. What more could you ask from life?
    • 5/5
      The afterword of my 1960 copyright book begins with this, "To read the word of any famous author is in itself something of an art. A reader must develop the poise of courage in order to stay the judgement of his elders until he can read the work for himself." I have many friends who had to read this book for their 10th grade honors English class. They hate this book. As a 21 year old, I struggled with parts of this book, so I can only imagine being 15 and required to read it. The book follows the central character of Bathsheba Everdene. Bathsheba is a dark haired-dark eyed beauty who looks nothing like Julie Christie and who tempts several men around her. She has three main suitors. The first we meet being Gabriel Oak, who remains loyal to her throughout the book even though he is a poor shepard. We see Bathsheba grow and mature throughout the book. I know I questioned the experience of women during this time-period in England, and how constraining it must have been to be at the whim of men.Hardy has a way of describing the scenery so you feel as though it would appear right out your own window. This book was not exactly a fast read, but it was certainly something to be savored and it comes highly recommended to anyone who wants to escape to Casterbridge, England with a nice cup of tea.
    • 2/5
      Nothing special.
    • 5/5
      An extraordinary work for a 34-year-old writer. Bathsheba Everdene is at the center of things, only dimly aware of her effect on those around her in a compelling story of love and regret.
    • 5/5
      The Moral of the Story: If you marry a jerk, make sure he cant swim
    • 3/5
      Brilliant prose, pointed insights. Turgid and overlong narrative.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      WellIts a fable in my opinion that says the 'steady reliable' man will win a fair maidens hand in the long run.It reads and feels like a penguin classic novel. I can imagine all the 15 yrs old pawing over the language and clever pieces of prose.Me - well I thought it was ok but I must say that the latter third of the book I even enjoyed. Its perfect for those of you who like a clever use of language and lots of smart descriptions. If you like me who are so keen on such things then it can be hard work at times
    • 5/5
      2008, Tantor Audiobooks, Read by John LeeYoung and beautiful Bathsheba Everdene comes into fortune by way of her uncle and moves to Weatherbury where she takes over the management of his large and profitable sheep farm. She draws the attention of three men, all of whom would have her hand in marriage. But Bathsheba is as naïve, rash, and impulsive as she is beautiful. She ignores Gabriel Oaks, an honest, humble, and loyal farmer and bailiff. She teases William Boldwood, her reserved and steady gentleman-neighbour, with an ill-begotten Valentine’s card bearing the message, “Marry me.” To her third lover, Francis Troy, handsome, vain, and irresponsible, Bathsheba falls prey. Her impetuousness will have disastrous personal consequences for her as well as the men who love her. But she will eventually mature into a comfortable life with one of her suitors.Far From the Madding Crowd, like Hardy’s other Wessex novels, celebrates the simple agrarian life of farm labourers, a manner of living not yet encroached upon by industrialization. Scenes of sheep-shearing and sheep-washing create vivid images of workers engaged in the seasonal rituals of farm life. The novel is full of rich description and breathtaking prose which reveal Hardy’s closeness to nature. One such beautiful passage:“It was the first day of June, and the sheep-shearing season culminated, the landscape, even to the leanest pasture, being all heath and colour. Every green was young, every pore was open, and every stalk was swollen with racing currents of juice. God was palpably present in the country, and the devil had gone with the world to town. Flossy catkins of the later kinds, fern-sprouts like bishops’ croziers, and square-headed moschatel, the odd cuckoo-pint – like an apoplectic saint in a niche of malachite, – snow-white ladies’-smocks, the toothwort, approximating to human flesh, the enchanter’s night shade, and the black-petaled doleful-bells, were among the quainter objects of the vegetable world in and about Weatherbury at this teeming time …” (Ch 22)A fabulous read, beautifully narrated by John Lee. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Sometime last year I saw the 2015 film adaptation of Far From the Madding Crowd. It’s very picturesqueness and told an interesting story - a young single woman managing her own property - but it felt rushed, like it was too abridged. Reading the book made sense of my reactions to the film. The film is framed as Bathsheba’s story, opening with a voiceover from her. However, the book is only sometimes from Bathsheba’s point of view. Certain things occur off-screen - and the reader is left, along with other main characters, to fill in the gaps ourselves as to exactly what happened. I found this approach made Bathsheba’s choices seem much more convincing.The book is also very clear about the passage of time. That helps to provide needed context - and I was interested by the colourful portrayal of life for this farming community.I particularly enjoyed Hardy’s descriptions and the amusing way with words some of his characters have. Even though I knew where the story was heading, the way the story was told kept me interested. I didn’t always enjoy the story of Bathsheba’s multiple suitors, but I appreciated that they’re not thrown in to create artificial tension. Far From the Madding Crowd offers thoughtful, and at times surprising, commentary on courtship, male expectations of women, healthy relationship dynamics, and the consequences of mistakes.And I found a certain romance even more shippable than I did in the film.Another one of the best books I’ve read this year. The audiobook, read by Nicholas Guy Smith, is excellent.[...] said Oak; and turning upon Poorgrass, “as for you, Joseph, who do your wicked deeds in such confoundedly holy ways, you are as drunk as you can stand.”“No, Shepherd Oak, no! Listen to reason, shepherd. All that's the matter with me is the affliction called a multiplying eye, and that's how it is I look double to you—I mean, you look double to me.”“A multiplying eye is a very bad thing,” said Mark Clark.“It always comes on when I have been in a public-house a little time,” said Joseph Poorgrass, meekly. “Yes; I see two of every sort, as if I were some holy man living in the times of King Noah and entering into the ark [...]”
    • 3/5
      Okay, so I didn't actually finish this novel, beyond skipping ahead to read the second to last chapter. Actually, I don't think I actually finished Tess of the D'Urbervilles either. I guess not finishing Thomas Hardy novels is becoming a habit.

      Honestly, there was a lot to like about this novel. I liked Gabriel Oak. I love Hardy's use of crazy, creepy, mythic symbolism. I even liked the descriptions and the Shakespearian peasant characters. But halfway through it mostly just began to confuse and bore me, because the rest of Hardy's characters just confounded me.

      The funny thing is that my feelings about the book were summed up in a Henry James quote on the back of the book, saying that the only believable element were the sheep. (Henry James's pastime seemed to be saying offensive things about English novelists. He also made derogatory comments about Dickens.) The person writing the copy on the back of the book quoted him in order to say that he was wrong, but nearing the end I started to agree with him. Almost all of the conversations involving Bathsheba just sounded so strange and artificial, and all of her motivations were elliptical and contradictory. I just didn't know what to do with her after a while. If I'd had more time, I would have happily finished it properly, but I don't feel like I missed very much.
    • 3/5
      Bathsheba Everdene is beautiful and willful and when she inherits her uncle's farm in Westbury she makes the controversial decision to run it herself without the aid of a bailiff. In the midst of her independence, however, Bathsheba finds herself the object of desire of three very different men. As Bathsheba contemplates the concept of marriage, the power of her attractions will alter the lives of each of the men as well as her own, in ways no one could predict.I enjoyed the majority of this classic novel with its largely quiet and pastoral feel and it's sudden dramatic turn in the latter half of the book. The language is beautiful and each of the characters are drawn wonderfully and distinctly. My only gripe is a relic of the period in which the novel was written, as Hardy frequently includes sentences about the common weakness of women in general that left me rolling my eyes. I found it particularly irritating as the main character of his novel is such a strong and independent woman. That being said, it was a solid read that I don't regret.
    • 4/5
      Fantastic read! A really challenging and rewarding book--a perfect example of advanced, proficient use of archaic language. Hardy's mastery of the English vocabulary is inspiring, but it took a lot of concentration to read.

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    FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Historical Romance Novel) - Thomas Hardy

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