Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd
By: Thomas Hardy
This is Thomas Hardy’s fourth novel and his first major literary success. It is the first novel to be set in Hardy’s fictional county of Wessex in rural southwest England.
Title information
Themes of love, honor and betrayal are set against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes 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.
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), son of a stonemason and builder, was trained as an architect, but he gave up his profession to write first serialized novels and then poetry. His two masterworks, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, both set in the imaginary county of Wessex, were controversial when published because of their depiction of women’s issues and sex.
