Far From the Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy's classic novel of rivalry and misplaced love with a new introduction by academic and poet, Professor Mark Ford. The novel that bought Thomas Hardy fame and the first to be set in a richly imagined, rural Wessex. With 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 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. Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much-loved classic titles.