Books with title The Mayor of Casterbridge: Illustrated

Drunk at a country fair, Michael Henchard sells his wife to a sailor for five guineas. Overcome with guilt and remorse, he vows not to drink for 21 years. Decades later his wife seeks him out in Casterbridge, where he has gained both wealth and the respected position of mayor. Beneath the surface still smoulders the same impetuousness and temper which combine with fate to bring about his degradation and ruin.

Hardy's superbly written tale is an ultimately tragic affair that begins with the novel's central character auctioning off his wife and young daughter in a fit of drunken irritation. He later becomes Mayor of Casterbridge, but doesn't reveal his guilty secret and is in for some unpleasant surprises.. With several intriguing romantic subplots set against the charming backdrop of rural nineteenth century England, the novel is a joy to read. Just as accessible and enjoyable for today's modern readers as it would have been when first published well over 100 years ago, the novel is one of the great works of English literature and continues to be widely read throughout the world.This meticulous edition from Heritage Illustrated Publishing is a faithful reproduction of the original text and is beautifully illustrated with a number of atmospheric historical paintings that reflect the mood of the novel.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - One evening of late summer, before the nineteenth century had reached one-third of its span, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were appro- aching the large village of Weydon-Priors, in Upper Wessex, on foot. They were plainly but not ill clad, though the thick hoar of dust which had accumulated on their shoes and garments from an obviously long journey lent a disadvantageous shabbiness to their appearance just now. The man was of fine figure, swarthy, and stern in aspect; and he showed in profile a facial angle so slightly inclined as to be almost perpendicular. He wore a short jacket of brown corduroy, newer than the remainder of his suit, which was a fustian waistcoat with white horn buttons, breeches of the same, tanned leggings, and a straw hat overlaid with black glazed canvas. At his back he carried by a looped strap a rush basket, from which protruded at one end the crutch of a hay-knife, a wimble for hay-bonds being also visible in the aperture. His measured, springless walk was the walk of the skilled countryman as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer; while in the turn and plant of each foot there was, further, a dogged and cynical indifference personal to himself, showing its presence even in the regularly interchanging fustian folds, now in the left leg, now in the right, as he paced along.

Thomas Hardys novels about the cruel twists of fate that blight our lives have a timeless power to move us. In The Mayor Casterbridge, a young Michael Henchard makes a rash, alcohol-fuelled decision to sell his wife. Despite abstaining from alcohol from this point forward and living an upstanding life, this lapse is a revenant that returns to plague him at the peak of his career. In his struggles to overcome his hot-headed, belligerent nature, Henchard is very recognisably human and sympathetic hero.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Set against the backdrop of peaceful south-west England, where Thomas Hardy spent much of his youth, The Mayor of Casterbridge captures the author's unique genius for depicting the absurdity underlying much of the sorrow and humor in our lives. In the stunning opening chapter of The Mayor of Casterbridge, a drunken hay-trusser, Michael Henchard, sells his wife and daughter for five guineas to a sailor. The book follows Henchard who, overcome by guilt after the sale of his wife, swears he will not have another drink of alcohol for twenty years. By hard work, he becomes a wealthy dealer in corn and hay, and eventually the mayor of Casterbridge. But after eighteen years, his wife and child Elizabeth-Jane return and, from this point on, his fortunes decline, in part through bad luck and in part through his own obstinate nature. In the end, his rival Farfrae has Henchard's business, his house, Lucretta, and he even becomes mayor of Casterbridge. Henchard eventually dies in a miserable hut on Egdon Heath. This special edition of The Mayor of Casterbridge features a splendid introduction by fiction writer Rick Moody, who calls Hardy's classic "the first great novel about alcoholism."