"It may have been observed that there is no regular path for getting out of love as there is for getting in. Some people look upon marriage as a short cut that way, but it has been known to fail." --Far from the Madding Crowd

Bathsheba Everdene arrives in the small village of Weatherbury and captures the heart of three very different men; Gabriel Oak, a quiet shepherd, the proud, obdurate Farmer Boldwood and dashing, unscrupulous Sergeant Troy. The battle for her affections will have dramatic, tragic and surprising consequences in this classic tale of love and misunderstanding.

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"Vital, passionate, spirited -- from the moment Bathsheba appears she is beguiling. You can denounce her faults -- she's selfish and capricious -- but it's hard not to admire her determined independence."
--Independent

"Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd is the most romantic book I have ever read. I love the line where he says: 'Whenever you look up, there I shall be -- and whenever I look up there will be you.' It is very simple and understated, but also incredibly romantic."
--Liz Jensen, Independent

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THOMAS HARDY was born on June 2, 1840. His father was a stonemason. He was brought up near Dorchester and trained as an architect. In 1868 his work took him to St Juliot's church in Cornwall where he met his wife-to-be, Emma. His first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, was rejected by publishers but Desperate Remedies was published in 1871 and this was rapidly followed by Under the Greenwood Tree (1872), A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) and Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). He also wrote many other novels, poems and short stories. Tess of the D'Urbervilles was published in 1891. His final novel was Jude the Obscure (1895). Hardy was awarded the Order of Merit in 1920 and the gold medal of the Royal Society of Literature in 1912. His wife died in 1912 and he later married his secretary. Thomas Hardy died January 11, 1928.

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