Other editions of book The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, subtitled The Life and Death of a Man of Character was originally published in 1886 in the United Kingdom. The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of Thomas Hardy's most popular books and was voted as one of the 200 best books of all time by U.K. readers. If you haven't yet read this Thomas Hardy book The Mayor of Casterbridge, then now is your chance! Enjoy The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy today!

A novelist and a poet, Thomas Hardy is best known and loved for his evocative portraits of rural England described in his novels. The Mayor of Casterbridge is one such tale. Set in the 1840's, this powerful story of a man who cannot escape his past is now presented in a stunning dramatization, originally conceived for BBC broadcast and produced by the world's foremost creators of radio entertainment. This exclusive production immediately engages listeners from the spectacular opening scene to the breathtaking series of discoveries at its conclusion, transporting them back in time with a full-cast, authentic sound effects, and a stirring musical score.The Mayor of CasterbridgeDrunk on rum at a country fair, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a passing sailor for five guineas. The next day, sober and overcome with guilt and remorse, he tries in vain to find them. Abandoning his search, he takes a vow of abstinence for twenty-one years and makes his way towards the town of Casterbridge.Nineteen years later, Henchard's wife seeks him out in Casterbridge, where, as a flourishing corn trader, he has gained both wealth and the well-respected position of mayor. His family now restored to him, his happiness should be complete, but beneath the surface still smolders the same character flaws which combine with fate to bring about his degradation and ultimate ruin.The Mayor of Casterbridge claims a unique place among Thomas Hardy's finest and most powerful novels. Rooted in an actual case of wife-selling in early nineteenth-century England, this awesome drama of guilt and revenge introduces listeners to one of the greatest tragic heroes in fiction history.

LISTEN UP and learn how to achieve your best grade in essays and coursework. SmartPass The Mayor of Casterbridge combines a powerful full-cast audio drama, NO READING REQUIRED, with a detailed commentary that explores and explains everything you need to know to excel in your literature studies. Guided by the PassMaster, played by Joan Walker, listeners can take control of their own learning by moving at the pace they need to, recapping and re-listening when they want to, and pausing the guide to make notes, take breaks, or carry out suggested tasks. Created by teachers, theatre-in-education experts, and starring Harry Myers, Coralyn Sheldon, Nick Murchie, Ben Crowe and Joan Walker as the PassMaster. Original music composed and performed by John Gotting. The SmartPass range has won 3 Spoken Word Awards and in August 2008 the guide to Romeo and Juliet was voted the nation's 3rd favourite audiobook.

In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper. Subtitled 'A Story of a Man of Character', Hardy's powerful and sympathetic study of the heroic but deeply flawed Henchard is also an intensely dramatic work, tragically played out against the vivid backdrop of a close-knit Dorsetshire town.