- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Classic; New edition edition (Dec 29 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140435131
- ISBN-13: 978-0140435139
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,240,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
Thomas Hardy's fascination with the dualities inherent in human nature is at the root of The Mayor of Casterbridge, now in a brand-new edition. In a drunken fit Michael Henchard sells his wife and infant daughter to a sailor at a country fair; when sobriety returns the following day, he is unable to find and reclaim his family. Vowing to transform his life, he settles in the town of Casterbridge, where he eventually rises to the position of mayor. Henchard is a man whose impulses are at war with one another, and when his wife and daughter, now a young woman, appear in Casterbridge, these internal contradictions drive him to commit acts that spell his final destruction. Employing the elements of classic tragedy Hardy took the English novel in a new direction, emerging as both the last Victorian novelist and the first modern one, and defines themes that would occupy such twentieth-century writers as Conrad and Lawrence.
About the Author
Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and wrote both poetry and novels, including The Mayor of Casterbridge, Far From the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure. He died in 1928. Keith Wilson is Professor of English at the University of Ottawa and has edited Hardy's Fiddler of the Reels and Other Stories for Penguin Classics.
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First Sentence
One evening of late summer, before the present century had reached its thirtieth year, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors1 on foot. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
One evening of late summer, before the present century had reached its thirtieth year, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors1 on foot. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the greatest beginnings ever in a book.,
By "illusionator" (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Mayor Of Casterbridge (Paperback)
Mayor of Casterbridge is a tale about a man named Michael Henchard and the mistakes he makes in life. It is really well written, Hardy has a skill for great storytelling. There are so many surprises and details, which you at first think at irrelevant turn out to be the turning factors of the entire book. Hardy is not one who puts in a lot of useless text, everything has to be thoroughly read or you will not enjoy it. Anyways boys and girls, hope you enjoy this, I sure did
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Mayor of Casterbridge,
By jenny (Okemos) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Mayor Of Casterbridge (Paperback)
Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge" es a truly remarkable novel. Interesting throughout, it is the story of the rise and fall of a man named Mechael Henchard. Ay the beginning of the novel, Henchard is a volatile, twenty-one-year-old hay-trusser. He becomes drunk at a fair and sells his wife and daughter to a sailor in an auction, which originally began as a joke, turns serious.Upon realizing that he has sold his family, Henchard searches for them to no avail, and takes an oath to give up alcohol for twenty-one years. After the supposed death of the sailor, Michael's wife, Susan Henchard, and her daughter began a search for Michael Henchard, who has become the mayor of Casterbridge.The novel proceeds as many soap-opera-like events unfold. The unique plot-twists made reading the novel a very entertaining experience. An unfavorable trait Henchard possesses is not letting go of past mistakes. Although he tries to atone for the past indiscretions, fate always seems to catch up to him. These factors and others contribute to the downfall of Michael Henchard.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illustration of the adage,"What goes around comes around.",
By A Customer
This review is from: Penguin Classics Mayor Of Casterbridge (Paperback)
Mayor Henchard was drunk when he sold his wife and child. This instance of reckless cruelty would come to haunt him in his later years. Overall a pious and good man, his downfall was his reluctance to face his past. His will dictated his epitaph. He will never be heard from again. (The will is on the last few pages of the book.) Fading into nothing, it challenges the reader to find a term for death. Is death the physical end of life, or the emotional end of life. Readers will be challenged to determine their own answers to Henchard's damnation.
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