Far From The Madding Crowd

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CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Aug 20, 2013 - Fiction - 364 pages
Far From The Madding CrowdBy Thomas Hardy Gabriel Oak is living on borrowed time and borrowed funds - the young shepherd has taken a loan to lease a farm. He falls in love with a Bathsheba Everdene, a beauty eight years younger than him, but she refuses is proposal, preferring her independence. Eventually, Gabriel is financially ruined when an inexperienced sheep dog drives his flock over a cliff. While penniless and looking for work in Shottsford, he comes upon a fire and helps douse the flames. The owner of the property reveals herself to be Bathsheba's mother, who hires Gabriel. Bathsheba, meanwhile, has a new admirer: William Boldwood, a prosperous farmer.

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About the author (2013)

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in Higher Bockhampton, England. The eldest child of Thomas and Jemima, Hardy studied Latin, French, and architecture in school. He also became an avid reader. Upon graduation, Hardy traveled to London to work as an architect's assistant under the guidance of Arthur Bloomfield. He also began writing poetry. How I Built Myself a House, Hardy's first professional article, was published in 1865. Two years later, while still working in the architecture field, Hardy wrote the unpublished novel The Poor Man and the Lady. During the next five years, Hardy penned Desperate Remedies, Under the Greenwood Tree, and A Pair of Blue Eyes. In 1873, Hardy decided it was time to relinquish his architecture career and concentrate on writing full-time. In September 1874, his first book as a full-time author, Far from the Madding Crowd, appeared serially. After publishing more than two dozen novels, one of the last being Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy returned to writing poetry--his first love. Hardy's volumes of poetry include Poems of the Past and Present, The Dynasts: Part One, Two, and Three, Time's Laughingstocks, and The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall. From 1885 until his death, Hardy lived in Dorchester, England. His house, Max Gate, was designed by Hardy, who also supervised its construction. Hardy died on January 11, 1928. His ashes are buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.

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