Staff Pick
This dark novel begins with a man who, in a drunken rage, sells his wife and daughter at a fair. Full of remorse upon realizing what he has done, he vows to redeem his life — and does so. Yet his secret weighs heavily on him. Hardy is his usual brooding, heartrending self here, but to a beautiful, profound effect. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The Mayor of Casterbridge is a man haunted by his past. In his youth he betrayed his wife and baby daughter in a shocking incident that led him to swear never to tough alcohol again for twenty-one years. He has since risen from his humble origins to become a respected pillar of the community in Casterbridge, but his secrets cannot stay hidden forever and he has many hard lessons left to learn.
Thomas Hardy’s almost supernatural insight into the course of wayward lives, his instinctive feeling for the beauty of the rural landscape, and his power to invest that landscape with moral significance all came together in an utterly fluent way in The Mayor of Casterbridge.
A classically shaped story about the rise and fall of the brooding and sometimes brutal Michael Henchard in the harsh world of nineteenth-century rural England, The Mayor of Casterbridge is an emblematic product of Hardy’s maturity–vigorous, forceful, and unclouded by illusions.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Synopsis
Introduction by Craig Raine
Synopsis
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Thomas Hardys almost supernatural insight into the course of wayward lives, his instinctive feeling for the beauty of the rural landscape, and his power to invest that landscape with moral significance all came together in an utterly fluent way in The Mayor of Casterbridge. A classically shaped story about the rise and fall of the brooding and sometimes brutal Michael Henchard in the harsh world of nineteenth-century rural England, The Mayor of Casterbridge is an emblematic product of Hardys maturity-vigorous, forceful, and unclouded by illusions.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. xxviii-xxix)
About the Author
J.I.M. Stewart (1906–1994) was the author of
Thomas Hardy: A Critical Biography; Character and Motive in Shakespeare and
Eight Modern Writers, among other works.
From the Trade Paperback edition.