Thomas Hardy 
Far From the Madding Crowd 

With an essay by Ronald Blythe.
»I cannot allow any man to – to criticise my private conduct!» she exclaimed. »Nor will I for a minute.»
Hardy»s powerful novel of swift sexual passion and slow-burning loyalty centres on Bathsheba Everdene, a proud working woman whose life is complicated by three different men – respectable farmer Boldwood, seductive Sergeant Troy and devoted Gabriel – making her the object of scandal and betrayal. Vividly portraying the superstitions and traditions of a small rural community, Far from the Madding Crowd shows the precarious position of a woman in a man»s world.
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