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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge

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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
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Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future.

One of the greatest novels in the English language, The Mayor of Casterbridge sees Thomas Hardy at his best, bringing landscape and richly imagined characters to life, and setting the hope of love against the forces of Providence.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2010 Naxos Audiobook Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Thought-Provoking
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A great listen and one of my favourite Hardy novels. Atmosphere expertly captured by Anton Lesser's reading.

A Really Good Listen

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Obviously the story is good but it's the narration that is the real stand-out feature of this excellent audio book.

A Classic

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I've always loved Hardy's work, and Anton Lesser narrated it to perfection! I highly recommend this version of the audiobook!

Amazing book, masterfully narrated!

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Michael Henchard is Hardy's strongest male character in all of his works and that character's bitter pride weaves his own undoing in this classic novel. For me, this is not one of my favourite Hardy novels - it is disaster after disaster after disaster and, for me, the tone is more grim than even Tess of the D'Ubervilles. Also the story revolves around the shaming of the female characters for their perceived lack of propriety in the past. Sadly, some of that still goes on today.

Anton Lesser's narration is superb. His characterisation is excellent and he brings out every subtle nuance in the writing.

Anton Lesser is a fabulous narrator

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This was a very pleasant surprise. I have never read Hardy and was expecting a stodgy Victorian sermon. What I got was a powerful, at times overwhelming book. The character of Henchard must be one of the strongest in literature and his fall, rise and fall again is related in a fast moving and sometimes very modern way. The narration of Anton Lesser is as always superb and add's greatly to the enjoyment of this great book. Highly recommended and I will be keen to try more Thomas Hardy.

The Mayor of Casterbridge

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