Far from the Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy
This story, with it’s dramatic characters and combination of tragic and entertaining situations, was appreciated by everyone. Hardy’s vivid descriptions of rural life, as well as the social/sexual mores and structure of the time, were informative and generated some lively discussion about the political/social/economic changes with regard to women’s rights and standing in society. One person thought the romantic aspects of the novel (falling in love at first sight and pledging one’s life to that person without any real knowledge of them) highly improbably and dysfunctional,
Though sometimes drawn in extreme detail, most readers found the descriptions of farming procedures and lifestyle interesting and educational.
