'The first of Hardy's great novels, and the first to sound the tragic note for which his best fiction is remembered' Margaret Drabble

Thomas Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with evocative descriptions of rural life, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. Its heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, takes up her position as a farmer on a large estate, where her confident presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and when tragedy ensues, the stability of the whole community is threatened.

Edited with an Introduction and notes by ROSEMARIE MORGAN with SHANNON RUSSELL

Far from the Madding Crowd was Thomas Hardy's first major literary success, and it edited with an introduction and notes by Rosemarie Morgan and Shannon Russell in Penguin Classics.

About the Author
Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset in 1840 and became an apprentice architect at the age of sixteen. He spent his twenties in London, where he wrote his first poems. In 1867 Hardy returned to his native Dorset, whose rugged landscape was a great source of inspiration for his writing. Between 1871 and 1897 he wrote fourteen novels, including Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. This final work was received savagely; thereafter Hardy turned away from novels and spent the last thirty year of his life focusing on poetry. He died in 1928.

Reviews
"Far from the Madding Crowd is the first of Thomas Hardy's great novels, and the first to sound the tragic note
for which his fiction is best remembered."
-Margaret Drabble


Awards
Runner-up for The BBC Big Read Top 100 2003. Short-listed for BBC Big Read Top 100 2003.



Book Information
ISBN 9780141439655
Author Thomas Hardy
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 320g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 28mm