Far From the Madding Crowd: 1895 Edition
About this audiobook
Set in rural Victorian England, Far from the Madding Crowd describes the life and relationships of a woman Farmer, Bathsheba Everdene. First with the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, then her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, and finally, the prodigal soldier Sergeant Frank Troy. Set in Thomas’s imaginary county of Wessex, it deals with themes of love, honor, and betrayal, against a backdrop of the idyllic, though the idyllic was often harsh in a farming community in Victorian England. Far from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardy’s fourth published novel and his first major literary success. Published in 1874, he revised it extensively in 1895 (as the original appeared as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, and he felt it needed altering to make it smoother and more of a continuous novel). In 1901 he revised it again. This recording is of the first 1895 revision. The novel has often been adapted for stage and screen, the most notable being the 1967 Oscar-nominated film directed by John Schlesinger. It is widely regarded as one of the most powerful romance novels of all time.
About the author
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English poet and novelist who wrote during both the Victorian and Modernist periods. A realist influenced by Romanticism, he is the author of numerous short stories, a wealth of poetry, and fourteen novels, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Jude the Obscure. Known for his investigation of tragic characters, difficult circumstances, and fate, he used his writing to critique the Victorian societal conventions that created an array of social constraints.
Chris MacDonnell is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a classically trained actor and voice artist whose theater credits include London’s West End and the Royal National Theatre, British TV shows, BBC Radio drama, commercials, and films. He is also a published poet and has written comedy and drama for television shows.
