Far from the Madding Crowd cover art

Far from the Madding Crowd

Penguin Classics

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Far from the Madding Crowd

By: Thomas Hardy, Rosemarie Morgan - introduction
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Olivia Vinall, who is known for her roles in Apple Tree Yard and The Woman in White. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Rosemarie Morgan.

Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swiftpassion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.

©1874 Thomas Hardy (P)2019 Penguin Audio Classics Solider

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All stars
Most relevant  
There’s a missing chapter (chapter 16), which means all chapters after that are out of order.

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great plot, but marred by lots of mispronounced words along the way as well as the relentless cheerfulness of the reader's voice which suggests she's not always understanding the tone of what she's reading.

uneven performance

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I loved losing myself in Thomas Hardy's Wessex and Olivia Vinall's narration was brilliant. Highly recommend.

Expertly narrated

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The plot is timeless and events are all very believable. Nice to have a woman in the main role especially for a nineteenth century novel.

Great story

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For me, this was a far less satisfying story than The Woodlanders or Tess... and the first Hardy novel where I did not really engage with the primary characters of Bethsheba and Troy, though they deserved each other.

The narration was also a little disappointing, with rather too many words mispronounced, which I found distracting from the story.

Disappointing narration

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