Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) is the first novel set in Hardyâs fictional county of Wessex in rural southwest England. It deals with the themes of love, honor and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationshipsâespecially with her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. The novel was listed at number 48 on the BBCâs survey The Big Read in 2003. The book finished 10th on the Guardianâs list of greatest love stories of all time in 2007. It has been dramatized several times, notably in an Oscar-nominated 1967 film directed by John Schlesinger.
Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) is the first novel set in Hardyâs fictional county of Wessex in rural southwest England. It deals with the themes of love, honor and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationshipsâespecially with her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. The novel was listed at number 48 on the BBCâs survey The Big Read in 2003. The book finished 10th on the Guardianâs list of greatest love stories of all time in 2007. It has been dramatized several times, notably in an Oscar-nominated 1967 film directed by John Schlesinger.