The Mayor of Casterbridge

A timeless tale of ruthless ambition from the revered author of Far from the Madding Crowd andJude the Obscure.

The blind energies and defiant acts that bring an ambitious man to power can also destroy him. This is the theme that Thomas Hardy explores through his greatest and most tragic hero: Michael Henchard, the driven grain merchant of Casterbridge. From his drunken sale of his wife and baby at a county fair to his subjugation of a farming village, Henchard’s life is an epic attempt to bring the world to heel as he hides, even from himself, all vestiges of emotional vulnerability. Combining the suspense of a mystery with all the poetry of the greatest English novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge is a masterpiece of psychological insight and profound tragedy.

Introduction by Elliot Perlman