Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community.

My first Thomas Hardy novel. Apparently some of his books can be a bit dark or gloomy but I wouldn’t describe this that way. This is more a love triangle, sorry, love square.. full of juicy drama set on a 19th century English farm in Wessex.

Wessex is Hardy’s creation, an area of south-west England, “a merely realistic dream country”. The Mayor of Casterbridge, another popular Hardy novel, is also set in Wessex.

I love strong female characters. Bathsheba is a proud, independent and determined young woman – no side-saddle for her! A remarkably modern character for its time.