- Paperback: 514 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (3 Jan 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 019283391X
- ISBN-13: 978-0192833914
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 14 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,536,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Far from the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to apply the name of Wessex to the landscape of south west England, and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. When the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene inherits her own farm, she attracts three very different suitors: the seemingly commonplace, man-of-the-soil Gabriel Oak, the dashing young soldier, Francis Troy, and the respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. Her choice, and the tragedy it provokes, lie at the centre of Hardy's ambivalent story. This edition presents a new text of the novel restoring several manuscript passages never before published with the novel, and many of the 1901 revisions missing from nearly all modern versions.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought that Far From the Madding Crowd was a really good book. It was the first novel by Thomas Hardy that I had read and it encouraged me to read some more of his works.
It is my favourite novel at the moment. I liked it so much because of the fantastic way in which characters are created and established. They are given such strong personalities, like Bathsheba Everdene, that it helps you become swept up in the action.
Far From the Madding Crowd is a novel about a country romance. A beautiful and interesting young woman is caught in a love triangle with three very different men. The first is the honourable and steady Gabriel Oak, who loves Bathsheba and is obviously fated to be with her, even though he seems quite her opposite. There is Farmer Bolwood who becomes obsessed with Bathsheba after she sends him a valentine, he is upstanding yet passive and we watch him drive painfully on to his undeserved end. Then there is the debonare Sargent Troy, who wins womans hearts and breaks them without thought.
This is a novel about life in the country, and how maddening it can be. It follows a magnificent set of characters, set in the beautiful place of Wessex, Hardy's imaginative countryside of England.
My favourite thing about this novel is how it centres on a woman. (A rare thing in the 19th century.) And a woman who is given the power to make her own descisions, be in charge of her money, and given sexual power. Bathsheba Everdene is a wonderful creation, up there with the best of 19th century fictions heroines. As complex as Madame Bouvary, innocent like Tess and tragic like Anna Karenia.
I reccomend this novel to anyone who is a fan of Thomas Hardy, enjoys romance novels or wants to gain a fresh view of England in the 19th century.
It is my favourite novel at the moment. I liked it so much because of the fantastic way in which characters are created and established. They are given such strong personalities, like Bathsheba Everdene, that it helps you become swept up in the action.
Far From the Madding Crowd is a novel about a country romance. A beautiful and interesting young woman is caught in a love triangle with three very different men. The first is the honourable and steady Gabriel Oak, who loves Bathsheba and is obviously fated to be with her, even though he seems quite her opposite. There is Farmer Bolwood who becomes obsessed with Bathsheba after she sends him a valentine, he is upstanding yet passive and we watch him drive painfully on to his undeserved end. Then there is the debonare Sargent Troy, who wins womans hearts and breaks them without thought.
This is a novel about life in the country, and how maddening it can be. It follows a magnificent set of characters, set in the beautiful place of Wessex, Hardy's imaginative countryside of England.
My favourite thing about this novel is how it centres on a woman. (A rare thing in the 19th century.) And a woman who is given the power to make her own descisions, be in charge of her money, and given sexual power. Bathsheba Everdene is a wonderful creation, up there with the best of 19th century fictions heroines. As complex as Madame Bouvary, innocent like Tess and tragic like Anna Karenia.
I reccomend this novel to anyone who is a fan of Thomas Hardy, enjoys romance novels or wants to gain a fresh view of England in the 19th century.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I was at school I was forced to read several Thomas Hardy novels and was bored to tears by them but now that I'm older and, hopefully, wiser I've embarked on a Hardy revival and am loving every second of it.
The description of people and places and the intricate ways in which the characters interact with each other in 'Far From the Madding Crowd' all fit together to produce a piece of fiction which builds to a dramatic climax that will shock. This novel will leave you frustrated, annoyed, shocked and pleased all at the same time!
Victorian values have a lot to answer for!
The description of people and places and the intricate ways in which the characters interact with each other in 'Far From the Madding Crowd' all fit together to produce a piece of fiction which builds to a dramatic climax that will shock. This novel will leave you frustrated, annoyed, shocked and pleased all at the same time!
Victorian values have a lot to answer for!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
No-one can fail to be moved by this novel which contains all the ingredients to keep you enthralled from page one. It can be seen primarily as a romance avoiding the usual unremitting gloom associated with many of Hardy's novels. But it also contains its fair share of death, tragedy and deception. Despite this it is beautifully written and a heartwarming tale, vividly evoking Hardy's familiar countryside.
The main protagonist is a heroine who despite her flaws comes across as a powerful woman surviving in a mans world by running a farm single handed. This makes her an impressive role model. Her trio of romances are sensitively drawn so that we never lose sympathy for any of the characters.
A novel to read again and again. I would highly recommend it.
The main protagonist is a heroine who despite her flaws comes across as a powerful woman surviving in a mans world by running a farm single handed. This makes her an impressive role model. Her trio of romances are sensitively drawn so that we never lose sympathy for any of the characters.
A novel to read again and again. I would highly recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Still as engrossing today as when it was written
The first of Hardy's novels to receive widespread critical acclaim, Far from the Madding Crowd is as engrossing a tale today as when it was written. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jeremy Bevan
Enduring love?
Reading this novel again in 36 degrees of heat in Tunisia was a delightful and slightly unusual experience! Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. S. Lewison
A master story teller
Author of Afinidad: A Novel of a Serial Killer
Aztec Dawn: A Tale of Sacrifical Murder, from Manhattan to Mexico
After reading a Thomas Hardy novel, I always heave a sigh... Read more
Aztec Dawn: A Tale of Sacrifical Murder, from Manhattan to Mexico
After reading a Thomas Hardy novel, I always heave a sigh... Read more
Published on 5 July 2009 by Kerri Louise Thomas
Far from Maddening crowd
For lovers of Thomas Hardy everywhere. Descriptions of countryside and main characters cannot easily be beaten. Fascinating insight into the mind of lovers and those being loved.
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by Teresa Quayle
Very good read.
I loved this book from start to finish.
It's written very well and each word is chosen perfectly. Read more
It's written very well and each word is chosen perfectly. Read more
Published on 8 April 2008 by Mrs. D. L. Cox
Delightful victorian novel
Thomas Hardy is one of the XIX century's greatest novels, and this is one of his best novels. Morover, it is one of his most atypical novels. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2007 by RAMON
The tragedy of life revealed...
An unusually upbeat ending for Hardy... Or is it? I would say not. To marry without passion; to accept what is designed for you by fate; that is the tragedy of life. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2001
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