“It appears that ordinary men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage, and that ordinary women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without possession; with totally differing aims the method is the same on both sides. But the understood incentive on the woman’s part was wanting here. Besides, Bathsheba’s position as absolute mistress of a farm and house was a novel one, and the novelty had not yet begun to wear off.”
It’s the 1870s and the independent, 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, soldier-seducer and the devoted shepherd. Each unsettles her decisions and complicates her life. But Bathsheba is fickle and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community.
The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy’s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.
by Thomas Hardy
Warren Book Club 