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Far From the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England and is set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year. The story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features original illustrations by Helen Allingham and an introduction by Professor Mark Ford.

Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart. 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 I have always loved this author whose writing so romantically and evocatively captures the essence of that part of England * The Australian * The imagined Wessex . . . appealed to a nostalgic appetite for vanishing pastoral traditions among the urbanized population of Victorian Britain -- Dinah Birch * Guardian * Hardy's natural modesty and reticence were such that he stood at the back of the crowd until he was noticed and escorted to a place of honour * Guardian *

Far From the Madding Crowd