Far from the Madding Crowd

Wessex' and its scenery plays a starring role in this story of innocence lost, breaking free, unrequited love and unchecked desires. Examining the sometimes-detrimental relationships between men and women and in turn, their tumultuous trysts with their surroundings, this story follows Bathsheba Everdene and five other central characters, all of whom, like nature, have their own particular virtues and flaws. South west England at the beginning of the 1840's, Gabriel Oak is a 28 year old shepherd who aspires to be a farmer with his own sheep. He proposes to recently arrived Bathsheba Everdene, but she turns him down because he seems too plain and unpropertied. Bathsheba inherits her father's farm where Oak eventually becomes the de facto supervisor in reduced circumstances. The upright Farmer Boldwood, proposes marriage to her. After a series of events, let-downs and deaths, Oak and Bathsheba find themselves face-to-face again. Bathsheba, our immature heroine, plays with hearts, but eventually knows the pain that she has caused. A delightful and ironic portrayal of the "simple" country life, filled with rich language. Read by Robert Powell