Read of the Week: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

This week's recommend comes from our Reading Resources Volunteer Eleanor who has chosen Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

“If I only knew one thing – whether you would allow me to love you and win you and marry you after all – if I only knew that!”

“But you never will know,” she murmured.

“Why?”

“Because you never ask!” - Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd

This is Hardy’s tale of Bathsheba, a warrior of a woman, and the three men in pursuit of her love. She wavers, agonisingly, between each of them. To which, if any, will she commit? And how much is lost in the choosing?

Hardy is always interested in human struggle but if the desolate tragedy of some of his other work puts you off, try this – some of the strongest characters he ever created, searching for the solidity of a love founded on friendship.