Hardy, Thomas

Details the story of Jude Fawley, a poor stonemason who longs to be a minister, and how the brutal deaths of his children and his inability to please the two women in his life hinder his dreams and threaten his existence.

"In a drunken rage, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor at a local fair. When they return to Casterbridge some nineteen years later, Henchard--having gained power and success as the mayor--finds he cannot erase the past or the guilt that consumes him."--back cover.

Set in fictional Wessex countryside in southwest England, first published anonymously in 1874. The story of the ill-fated passions of the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene and her three suitors offers a spectacle of country life brimming with energy and charm.

Presents Hardy's classic novel of two people caught up in their passion for each other and conflicting ambitions.

Presents Thomas Hardy's novel about a young woman who attempts to restore her family's fortunes, is seduced by a heartless aristocrat, and is punished by society's double standards when she gets a chance at real love; and includes an introduction and explanatory notes.