Review of Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

The afterword of my 1960 copy of Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy begins with this, “To read the word of any famous author is in itself something of an art. A reader must develop the poise of courage in order to stay the judgement of his elders until he can read the work for himself.” I have many friends who had to read this book for their 10th grade honors English class. They hate this book. As a 21 year old, I struggled with parts of this book, so I can only imagine being 15 and required to read it.

The book follows the central character of Bathsheba Everdene. Bathsheba is a dark haired-dark eyed beauty who looks nothing like Julie Christie and who tempts several men around her. She has three main suitors. The first we meet being Gabriel Oak, who remains loyal to her throughout the book even though he is a poor shepherd. We see Bathsheba grow and mature throughout the book. I know I questioned the experience of women during this time-period in England, and how constraining it must have been to be at the whim of men. Hardy has a way of describing the scenery so you feel as though it would appear right out your own window.

This book was not exactly a fast read, but it was certainly something to be savored and it comes highly recommended to anyone who wants to escape to Casterbridge, England with a nice cup of tea.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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