Not so ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’

I have always loved Thomas Hardy’s historical romance, Far from the Madding Crowd, so you can imagine my exquisite delight to find three of my own books alongside his, in the top 100 Victorian romance books on Amazon UK.

Most of Hardy’s characters are portrayed as being in conflict between their passion and their social circumstance. Like his contemporary, Charles Dickens, he was very critical of Victorian society, particularly the plight and decline of rural communities. He initially published his work as a series of stories in magazines, as Dickens had done before him, but primarily saw himself as a poet.

Thomas Hardy’s fourth novel, Far from the Madding Crowd was originally published anonymously in serialized form in Cornhill Magazine and had a large following of readers eagerly awaiting each monthly episode. It is lovely to see that his writing is still reaching people’s hearts in our modern era. I’ve seen the trailer of the latest film based on the book (I think there has been about three over the years) and it looks authentic and is beautifully shot. I can’t wait to see the full movie.

Here’s a taste of what to expect if you go see the movie.