15 h 46 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 15 h 46 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does independence cost when three very different men lay claim to your heart?
Bathsheba Everdene wants to run her farm herself, not hand its business to a man. She refuses marriage to Gabriel Oak, a young shepherd hoping to establish his own farm. When they meet again at Weatherbury, his practical skill earns him work on her land.
But Gabriel’s steady affection is not the only claim on Bathsheba’s attention. A playful valentine awakens an intense attachment in the reserved farmer William Boldwood. Sergeant Francis Troy brings charm and impulsiveness. Among sheep, barns, markets, and harvests, Bathsheba’s pride and attraction make her choices harder to undo.
What you’ll discover
- Independence under pressure Follow a capable young farmer who wants authority over her land and her affections.
- The weight of steady love Meet Gabriel Oak, whose devotion endures changes in fortune and social standing.
- A gesture with consequences Watch a playful valentine become something far more serious for William Boldwood.
- Charm and its human cost Troy’s relationship with Fanny Robin reveals how deeply his carelessness affects other lives.
- Country life at work Enter a rural world where harvests and sudden weather demand more than romantic dreams.
Who will love it
Readers who love country life, strong-minded heroines, rival suitors and the turning of the farming year, and anyone who enjoys a story where weather, work and village talk matter as much as romance.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A shepherd, a mirror and a twopenny toll
- A proposal refused and a flock lost
- Fire at the rickyard changes everything
- A mistress with a farm and a household
- A joke valentine wakes a sleeping man
- An answer deferred, a shepherd dismissed and recalled
- Shearing, song and a soldier in the firs
- What the story is really about
- How Hardy tells it
Who’s who
- Gabriel OakA plain, honest shepherd who loses his flock, finds work on Bathsheba's farm and goes on loving her without asking for anything in return.
- William BoldwoodA wealthy, solemn bachelor farmer who has never loved anyone until a joke valentine arrives and fills his whole life with longing.
- Fanny RobinA young, poor servant on Bathsheba's farm who leaves in the night to follow the soldier she hopes to marry.
- Liddy SmallburyBathsheba's cheerful young companion, who loves gossip, takes part in her mistress's moods and shares many of her secrets.
- Jan CogganA ruddy, good-humored farmhand and master shearer who loves ale and song and is loyal to both Oak and Bathsheba.
- Joseph PoorgrassA painfully shy carter who blushes before his mistress, prays before every act and gives the village chorus much of its comedy.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 15 h 46 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Lejos del mundanal ruido in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Lejos del mundanal ruido
by Thomas Hardy · 1874
Gabriel Oak loses most of his flock, then finds the woman who refused him running a farm in Weatherbury.
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In short
A girl sits alone on a yellow wagon, admires her own face in a small mirror, and a young farmer watches from behind a hedge. So begins Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy's novel of 1874, set in Wessex, his name for the farming country of southwest England.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A shepherd, a mirror and a twopenny toll
Gabriel Oak is twenty-eight and newly a farmer on Norcombe Hill. One December morning he watches a yellow wagon stop below his field. A young woman in a crimson jacket sits alone on the load, and thinking herself unseen, she smiles at her face in a small mirror.
Oak follows the wagon to a turnpike gate and pays the twopence the driver owes. The girl gives him a careless glance and no thanks. He agrees she is handsome but says her worst fault is vanity.
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What is Far from the Madding Crowd about?
It follows Bathsheba Everdene, a young woman who inherits a farm in Wessex and attracts three very different men: the shepherd Gabriel Oak, the wealthy farmer William Boldwood and the soldier Sergeant Troy. It is a story of love, pride and work.
Who is Bathsheba Everdene?
Bathsheba is the heroine, a beautiful and independent young woman who takes over her uncle's farm near Weatherbury. She is clever in business and proud of her freedom, though she is thoughtless in love and does not foresee how her actions will affect others.
What does the title Far from the Madding Crowd mean?
The title comes from a poem by Thomas Gray about quiet country life away from the noisy world. It points to the setting, a rural Wessex community where work, weather and village talk matter more than the bustle of cities.
The author
Thomas Hardy
1840–1928 · English novelist and poet
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was an English novelist and poet. He was born in Dorset and lived in Dorset and London. His novels include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), and Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891). He published poetry collections from 1898 until his death.
More by Thomas Hardy
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