Customer Reviews

Far from the Madding Crowd (Penguin Classics)

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In Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy introduces us to the precarious "love square". At the core of all the turmoil is beautiful farm girl, Bathsheba Everdene - spirited, vain, intelligent and adept at toying with the hearts of men. Inevitably beguiled by her charms a humble and kind farmer, Gabriel Oak, fervently attempts to win Bathsheba's affections. Enter the competition: (suitor#2) Farmer Boldwood - a wealthy and temperate middle-aged man respected in the community, eventually plunges into maniacal obsession at the mere possibility of making the beloved Miss Everdene his wife; and (suitor#3) Sergeant Francis Troy - a dashing young philandering soldier, with his share of inner demons, ruthlessness and vanity, vies for Bathsheba's hand in marriage. Bathsheba's ultimate decision, and the cataclysm it evokes, lies at the epicenter of Hardy's unforgettable ambivalent story.

Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy's fourth novel, saw publication in 1874 and earned him widespread popularity as a writer. A delicately woven tale of unrequited love and regret, set in the mid-19th century, Far From the Madding Crowd is a masterpiece of pure story-telling. Hardy's classic style is a pleasure to read as he masterfully brings his characters and their dealings to life. I would not hesitate to say it definitely captured my heart as another favourite.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, the first of Thomas Hardy's 'Wessex' novels, tells the story of a small troupe of farmers and their workers in a sheep-farming community in the fictitious county of 'Wessex'.

Gabriel Oak has been a shepherd since his teenage years, as his father was before him, but he's moved up and purchased, on credit, his own farm. The work is hard, but he is confident that he will succeed, and takes pride in being his own man. Then one day, a new woman arrives in town. Bathsheeba Everdene is beautiful, headstrong, intelligent, but incurably vain; Farmer Oak falls in love with her immediately. A few months later, he proposes, and is utterly rejected. Bathsheeba moves on to care for her dying uncle, and take over his farm. Gabriel continues farming - until tragedy strikes.

He and Bathsheeba will cross paths again, this time not as lovers, but as mistress and servant. Bathsheeba's beauty, vanity and impetuousness leave a trail of carnage in her wake, and Gabriel can only watch on as lives are destroyed, farms are ruined, and his own heart is crushed repeatedly.

Hardy is famous for his fatalism, and this is displayed no more than in the character of Bathsheba Everdene. She is not an evil person, as the above summary would suggest - but her stunning beauty and fierce intelligence combine with her vanity and impulsivity to create something like a force of nature, and though she means only good she seems to be able to do nothing but wrong by those who care for her. She has no more control over her nature than she does over the weather. One of the most interesting aspects of this character is that her vices - vanity, impulsivity, which Hardy attributes to her being young and beautiful - lead to the downfall of others, but she is continuously saved from downfall by her own intelligence and inner personal strength.

REal tragedy finally does strike Bathsheba, but rather than let it destroy her as retribution for her wicked ways, she grows from it. We may not be able to escape the hardship of life, Hardy seems to be saying, but we can grow and prosper by learning from it.

This was a fantastically entertaining book. The only warning that I could give with it is that it is slow-moving. The action comes in fits and spurts, and Hardy has a penchant for elaborate descriptions of the countryside, for farmhouses, churches and festivals. They are beautifully written, but take time to digest fully. Highly recommended.

I'm not sure that this book qualifies as one of the greatest of all time, but it is certainly one of my all-time favorites. My first aquaintance with the story was seeing the 1967 movies, with Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, and Alan Bates as the four main characters. (If you haven't seen it, this movie is very much worth the trouble.) Of course seeing the movie first has somewhat influenced the mental images of the characters in my head, despite the blonde, blue-eyed Christie playing the dark-haired, dark-eyed Bathsheba Everdene.

Yes, the story is about a beautiful women and the three men who court her, marry her, die for her, and swing for her (almost). There are lots of interesting sociological and historical topics here, and a great deal of the drama and pathos of the plot stems from the completely defenceless position of a women who, whatever wealth she may possess, essentially loses all control over her life when she marries someone whom, in contemporary terms, we might call a serial abuser.

But for me the real attraction of the book is the wonderful portrayal of nineteenth century rural life and the beautifully handled dialogue which is full of humor, pathos, and ultimately tragedy.

So, although in some respects the plot is not all the dissimilar from your typical Mills & Boon type scenario, there is much, much more in this book, and by the time you finish reading it, you have experienced a totally absorbing emotional rollercoaster ride and it is hard to say goodbye to these characters who truly come to life in the imagination.

Very, very highly recommended.

This is a fantastic introduction to Hardy's work for those who have not yet plunged into his more serious (and tragic) novels -- it's the only Hardy I've read thus far that actually has a happy ending. In Far From the Madding Crowd, Hardy creates two of his most pure characters: Gabriel Oak and Sergeant Francis Troy. Oak is a shepherd with a good heart and impeccable morals, someone to be counted on in all cases great or small, and someone who will always give an honest account of a particular situation. Troy, on the other hand, is seductive and deceptive to the last -- the perfect villian. It is interesting that Oak and Troy never deviate from their pureness of character, and they are a delight to "watch" as the novel progresses.

Although I think Jude the Obscure and Return of the Native were structurally superior works, I cannot rate this work as less than "excellent" because it has that certain Wessex charm from which I can't seem to break away.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is one of the glories of English Literature. Hardy wrote this novel in serial form for the Cornhill magazine edited by Leslie Stephen (father of novelist Virginia Woolf). In this Penguin Classic editon the editors have chosen to present the novel in the manuscript form in which Hardy first wrote it. The book is, therefore, free of the changes made by the Cornhill staff in which they sought to remove any improper language and changed some of the names.
The book was made into an outstanding movie in 1967 with Julie Christie as Bathsheba who has to choose three lovers. The bellicose sexy sergeant Frank Troy; the stolid and mentally disturbed rich farmer Boldwood and the reliable shepherd Gabriel Oak. What ensues is a tragedy filled with those ironical situations so beloved of the sceptical mind of Thomas Hardy.
All Hardy novels set in his mythical Wessex are filled with
rural humorous types and include many allusions culled from the
Bible and mythological subjects.
Hardy was greatest when he described the lush English countryside of southern England. His evocations of dawn breaking, snow falling and leaves tumbling to the groud are
beautifully drawn. The scenes of sheepshearing, barn burning
and the routines of rural life in 19th century England are
richly drawn.
This novel was authored shortly before Hardy wed his wife
and shows the novelist at the beginning of his great career.
Some readers may have trouble with the extensive use of dialect for the farmer characters but this novel is to be read
and savored and remembered long!

This is the very sad story of Bathsheba Everdene and her admirers. Although she is not as irritating as Tess, she is still clearly flawed in that Hardean way, and claims unnessary casualties in the process. However, this makes her quite real and believable. Presented as a strong and wilful character, except when it comes to the evil escapades of one single man, she manages to secure a happy future by the end of the story. As always, Hardy is incredibly descriptive and wordy, which can sometimes be a bit slow for a 21st C reader, but beyond that is a solid and compelling narrative. For me, this character was more honest and likeable than any other Hardy character I have met so far.

It took me a while to get into the author's style of writing, along with the dialect of the country folk, but once into it and the story it was very enjoyable. There are times where the author goes on with descriptions of the countryside, farming life, etc. and the story lulls a bit at those times, but then picks up again.

All in all well told and I am looking forward to more from this author.

I found this to be an absorbing account of a vain, inexperienced young woman and how she makes mistakes, proceeds to learn from them, and develops a keener insight into people and learns compassion. The scene where she loving cares for the burial plot of Fanny is one of the most touching.

I also read Claire Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy and in this book she states that Hardy wrote it while he was in the throes of romantic love with Emma, the woman who would become his wife. Emma is described as high spirited, passionate, and an independent thinker. Hardy fell hard for her after they had gone a horseback ride together. She was a fast rider and something of a daredevil about low hanging branches on trees. I saw elements of Bathsheba here in how Hardy described Bathsheba as lying completely backwards on the horse to go under tree branchs. Emma also had a deep passionate love of nature, as did Hardy.

It was also interesting to read of Hardy's early life. His mother came from a poor family and she had to start working at the age of 13 as a servant. She was a very intelligent girl, well read, and she always had aspirations to do more with her life. Unfortunantely, she became pregant after an asignation, and was at a loss as to what to do. This reminded me of the character of Fanny. Hardy's mother thought she might give the child to her mother to raise. Some family members then intervened and wrote letters to pressure the young man to marry her. The marriage happened, but it wouldn't exactly be called a happy one. This first child of theirs would become the famous Thomas Hardy. It is interesting that it is a theme in many of his novels that young women are seduced by men of a higher class, and then abandoned by them. Thomas Hardy said that his mother repeatedly warned his children not to marry, because they might be prevented from pursuing their dreams then. In the novel, Bathsheba repeats this phrase to Liddy and others.

When Thomas Hardy went to ask his wife's father for her hand in marriage, he was treated contemptuously and soundly rejected because they felt he came from "a lower class". Hardy and his potential bride left the home on the spot, and it caused a schism that lasted the rest of their lives. Ellen's family considered themselves gentry, while they felt Hardy's family were just laborers. The biographer said that Hardy felt the pain and intentional humiliation of similar slights like this many times. It was one of the things that fueled his desire to show the absurdities of these class distinctions. I saw elements of their story in the love story of Bathsheba and Gabriel. In the end when they Bathsheba and Gabriel come together, they have been tested and put through trials, yet they come through it having grown closer together and matured. It took Hardy 4 years to earn enough money to marry Emma, and when they married it was a private ceremony without anyone there from either side of the family.

In the biography I read that Hardy's grandfather on his mother's side was a very good looking man who failed at being a provider from his family. He was an unfaithful man, known to have mistresses. When he died, his wife had him buried next to his long time mistress. This caused quite a scandal at the time. I see this theme recurring in how Bathsheba buries Troy next to Fanny.

We read this book in my book club and we had some differing opinions on whether Bathsheba was in love with Gabriel in the end of the book when she marries him. I would like to believe that she is. I saw growth in her character in the compassionate way she cared for Fanny after her death and in the loving way she replanted the flowers on her grave. She could have been full of jealousy and the wrath of betrayal, but instead Bathsheba saw that she and Fanny both had been badly treated and deceived by Troy. Soon after her marriage to Troy, I believe that Bathsheba began to see who he really was. When she finds Gabriel out in the storm, battling to save the hay as her husband parties, she begins to value the loyal and responsible traits that he possesses. Gabriel becomes the one in whom she confides and whose judgment she trusts. I think that it is out of this respect and friendship that her love for him begins to grow without her really realizing it. They had gone through so many things together -- the storm, the sheep getting sick, the fire, replanting the flowers on Fanny's grave -- and all along Gabrile had been at her side loyally and selflessly helping her. Through these tribulations, she grew and became ready for a more mature and truer love.

Lastly, I found it interesting to learn that this novel was serialized because the author could earn a lot more money that way then just publishing an ordinary book. Cornhill, the publisher, often found parts of it too racy for the times. Originally they took out that Fanny died giving birth to her child. They completely took out that she was even pregant because they thought this would offend women readers. Later on, Hardy insisted this be put back in. The publishers also cautioned that it must be treated quite delicately just what happened when Bathsheba made that middle of the night journey to Bath to see Troy. I think we were able to figure it out.

In sum, I found this novel fascinating in its use of language, its intricate descriptions of nature, and its critique of class distinctions and the unnecessary pain and degradation that they cause. Finally, its the story of a woman's growth into becoming herself.

For those of you who enjoyed this book, may I recommend Tamara Drew by Posy Simmons. It is a graphic novel that is a very entertaining updating and retelling of Far From The Madding Crowd. It's about a young woman, Tamara Drew, we inherits a house from her aunt back in the village in which she grew up. Tamara had been something of an ugly duckling back then, but now she has had a nose job (hence the same vanity theme) and is now a beautiful vixen. A couple of teenagers break into her home and send out an amorous email to 3 local men under her name. This represents the valentine in FFTMC). The men are surprised by her interest and become very interested in her. The parallels between the two stories abound and are fun to figure out. The handsome soldier now is a handsome rock star. The stampeding sheep and are now stampeding cattle. etc. The prose is lively and the drawings really capture the emotions.

Far from the Madding Crowd is a complicated love story that demonstrates how small actions can have huge consequences, and that "time and chance happen to us all." I am glad I read it, and did enjoy the story and the ultimately happy ending. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because it is not nearly the masterpiece that Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urberville's is. His look into the psyche of a woman at that time period cannot compare to the literature written by his female contemporaries, however, this book is worth the time.

Having rediscovered Thomas Hardy only recently, I am simply entranced by his excellent prose, his keen powers of description and observation and his spellbinding characters. This is a classic love story about Bathsheba Everdene and her three suitors. A tale which will delve into tragedy before Bathsheba finds salvation at the hands of one of suitors. Many regard this as the first great novel in his "Wessex" series, which includes the "Mayor of Castlebridge". Those interested in reading Hardy's work will find "Far From The Madding Crowd" a splendid introduction.