Set against the backdrop of peaceful south-west England, where Thomas
Hardy spent much of his youth, The Mayor of Casterbridge captures the
author's unique genius for depicting the absurdity underlying much of
the sorrow and humor in our lives. Michael Henchard is an out-of-work
hay-trusser who gets drunk at a local fair and impulsively sells his
wife Susan and baby daughter. Eighteen years later Susan and her
daughter seek him out, only to discover that he has become the most
prominent man in Casterbridge. Henchard attempts to make amends for
his youthful misdeeds but his unchanged impulsiveness clouds his
relationships in love as well as his fortunes in business. Although
Henchard is fated to be a modern-day tragic hero, unable to survive
in the new commercial world, his story is also a journey towards
love. This edition is the only critically established text of the
novel, based on a comprehensive study of the manuscript and Hardy's
extensive revisions.
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