This is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and offers in ample measure the details of English rural life that Hardy so relished.
It first appeared, anonymously as a monthly magazine serial, where it gained a wide readership and critical acclaim.
The novel is the first to be set in Hardy's fictional county of Wessex in rural South West England. It deals in themes of love, honour and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh realities of a farming community in Victorian England.
It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationships – especially with her lonely neighbour William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy.
The book is often regarded as an early piece of feminist literature, since it features an independent woman with the courage to defy convention by running a farm herself. Although Bathsheba's passionate nature leads her into serious errors of judgment, Hardy endows her with sufficient resilience, intelligence and good luck to overcome her youthful folly.
Highlights of this edition are:
• 15 illustrations and photos.
• A free web links to the full-length audio recording of the book – to either listen to online or download.
• It is formatted for ease of use and enjoyment on your nook reader.
• An active (easy to use) Table of Contents listing every chapter accessible from the nook menu.
• Perfect formatting in rich text compatible with nook's Text-to-Speech features.
• Plus, about the Author section.
• 701 pages in the nook format.
This book is unabridged and appears as it was first intended. First published in 1874.
