Far from the Madding Crowd

Introduction and Notes by Norman Vance, Professor of English, University of Sussex

Far from Madding Crowd is perhaps the most pastoral of Hardy`s Wessex novels.It tells the story of the young farmer Gabriel Oak and his love for and pursuit of the elusive Bathsheba Everdene,whose wayward nature leads her to both tragedy and true love. It tells of the dashing Sergeant Troy whose rakish philosophy of life was "…the past was yesterday;the future,tomorrow;never,the day after".And lastly,of the introverted and reclusive gentleman farmer,Mr.Boldwood,whose love fills him with "…a fearful sense of exposure",when he first sets eyes on Bathsheba. The background to this compelling story is the majesty of the Wessex countryside in all its moods,contriving to make it one of the most English of great English novels.

'Every green was young, every pore was open, and every stalk was swollen with racing currents of juice'. This title comes with an introduction by Lucy Hughes-Hallett. 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.