Mayor of Casterbridge (Wordsworth Classics) Paperback – January 4, 1998

Classic Thomas Hardy. Just as good a read as Tess of the D’Ubervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd. Fast paced tale of rags to riches…and back again. A moral story of how one man’s decisions can affect so many around him and the struggle of interior virtue over vice is a lifelong battle.

Interesting story with many twists and turns in the plot.

If you like 19th century literature this is one of the best. Am enjoyable read!

Well written, great story.

I remember having read this book in high school. I immediately fell in love with Hardy. (I was also fond of Hardy Boys at that time, so in my opinion the name Hardy acquired a special significance.) Unfortunately, though, I never liked another book by him quite so much. I've read Tess of the d'Urbvilles, Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd(which was perhaps his second best novel, as others here have affirmed), and perhaps a few others. It is strange, or perhaps significant that I remember the exact circumstance when I was reading this book. It must have been about ten in the night. I had cleared my study desk, and unlike my common practice of lying on my stomach on my bed to enjoy a book into the night, I sat down on the straight-backed chair at the desk to read it. Very soon, I was overwhelmed by the narrative of Mr. Hardy. My father came in to see what I was up to, saw the tears streaming down my face as I turned the pages of my book, and quietly went away. I have never before owned any story books- my parents told me to read out of libraries. But now I am 22, and have started earning some money of my own, and I'm going to start a little collection of my most beloved books, to pass on to my children, perhaps? And this is among my very best.

Wow! This is an extraordinary tale that is great in so many ways. Highly recommended and timeless.

Very tough to read Hardy when yr used to contemporary style. Slow sledding, yet I can see its going to bne a powerful story once I get through.Will report again later.

The nontrivial number of one-star reviews of "Mayor of Casterbridge" is evidence that no matter how well written a book is, it is always possible to find reasons to trash it. Yes, the events in the story could not possibly happen in real life; but that doesn't matter, because *it's a great story*. (And who decreed that a work of fiction must be indistinguishable from reality, anyway?) Yes, Farfrae is a cardboard character; but that doesn't matter either, because the character in whom I was most interested was the Mayor himself. Some reviewers found him "despicable" or "annoying." I didn't. (For annoying, read "Emma.") Yes, there were many times when the Mayor would commit a bad act or have a bad thought. But each time that I was on the verge of concluding that the Mayor was at heart a bad *person*, the Mayor himself would realize his own sins, become ashamed, and attempt to correct himself. It was like watching a man on a seesaw frequently going down, down, down, and just before he is about to hit bottom and get stuck there, he realizes where he is and summons the effort to push himself back up, both in his own eyes and in the eyes of the reader. And that final note on the bed: Despicable men do not write such notes. Utterly heartbreaking.And Hardy's writing is utterly clear, easily parseable, and understandable without the repeated sentence re-reads required by many other works of the period. If you enjoy classic novels, give yourself a treat and read one of the best novels ever written.