The Mayor of Casterbridge

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Pamela Garelick

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

From its spectacular opening, the astonishing scene in which drunken Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a passing sailor at a country fair, to the breathtaking series of discoveries at its conclusion, The Mayor of Casterbridge claims a unique place among Thomas Hardy's finest and most powerful novels.

Rooted in an actual case of wife-selling in early nineteenth-century England, the story builds into an awesome Sophoclean drama of guilt and revenge, in which the strong, willful Henchard rises to a position of wealth and power, only to achieve a most bitter downfall. Proud, obsessed, ultimately committed to his own destruction, Henchard is, as Albert Guerard has said, "Hardy's Lord Jim...his only tragic hero and one of the greatest tragic heroes in all fiction."

(P)2001 Blackstone Audiobooks. Originally published in Great Britain in 1886.

Casterbridge keeps you wanting to read more

Very well narrated. The woman narrating soes a very good job of bringing out the emotions for male and female characters

Another Excellent Hardy Novel

This is my second Hardy novel and again I am impressed. Multi-dimensional upredictable characters, a plot with unexpected twists and turns, great use of the English language and lessons to learn about human nature. What more can you ask for from an audiobook novel? Well, you can ask for an excellent narrator who handles various accents well and puts emotion into the story - and you get that too!

The opening three chapters are very enticing - you won't have to listen for 3 disks to be drawn into the story. After having read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" and loving it, I can say that Hardy ranks up there with the best of the classic novelists. Well worth the listen - great content, great delivery!

I would also highly recommend "Tess . . ". I became literally angry with the characters in the book for what they did. When you get angry with characters, you know the author has done a great job!

Take a chance on this - you'll like it!

Henchard, Henchard, Henchard - poor Henchard. Is he the villain or a victim of circumstances? Should you feel empathy for him, or does he deserve everything that happens to him? That's the beauty of this book, I think. I read the synopsis and assumed that the book would build up to the sale of the wife, and so when that happened much earlier than I expected, I wondered what else could be left. Boy - was I wrong. This book had so many twists and turns - every time I thought it was going in one direction, it veered off again. Several times I found myself saying, "No, he didn't!" or "No, she didn't!" My feelings about the characters changed time and time again - sometimes I liked them, and sometimes I didn't, or thought they were stupid - there wasn't one "winner" throughout the entire book - but that worked really well!

***I'm spilling some of the beans here, so don't read on if you plan to read the book.*** I was ambivalent about Elizabeth and Donald ending up together. I wanted something nice to happen to Elizabeth, but after the way Donald "dumped" her for Lucetta, I wasn't sure that I wanted him to be the something nice. But I guess Hardy thought he had to write it that way to throw yet another curve ball at Henchard.

I think you should give this a try - it's an interesting foray into the ups and downs of human nature. I definitely liked it and am interested in picking up some more of Hardy's fiction.

This was my first audiobook with Pamela Garelick as the narrator, and I thought she did a great job.

Fabulous

This is my first Hardy novel but it is not going to be the last. When I fist saw Jude the Obscure as a film, I was so taken with it that I could not get it out of my mind for months. It is only upon listening to The Mayor of Casterbridge that I have come to understand that in making Jude, the director Michael Winterbottom) had raw material of an unparalleled literary quality. I love English a written and spoken by 19th C writers. This book does not disappoint in any respect. As someone who has listened to audiobooks for some time now, I found the quality of reading to be excellent. Throughout this long book, there were no moments during which I wished it to be over. The work is slow but its drama effects one directly. I find it hard to listen to a work of this sort without becoming personally invested. I am going to be upset about the book ending because I have taken sides. That's life.

less-than-thrilling

Pamela Garelick is wonderfully vivacious as Lucetta, and she sings, to boot--a plus for any Hardy narrator, since he often uses music to bring another dimension to a story. However, like many women, she doesn't have the vocal range to read mens' voices with real expression, and "Scotchman" Donald Farfrae's voice reminded me of a handpuppet's. The book has its haunting moments, and its funny ones to boot (often in the most painful settings, like one of those busy Brueghel paintings where everything is happening at once)--it's not like Hardy was off his game. But I was a bit disappointed in this audiobook, and I don't know if it's because the narration didn't work for me, or if I just wasn't captivated by these particular characters and their conflicts.

Another astonishing novel beautifully read

How inventive Hardy is, creating unforgettable characters, bold men and equally bold women. This book begins with a drunken misogynist selling his wife to a sailor, and the tragic and pleasant consequences. It is a plot invention worthy of Kafka. The reader is perfect

complex

this was such a lovely story. It was nothing that I expected. The characters were complex and the storyline was very rich.

Wonderful Classic

I was completely surprised at this classic and it's ability to maintain my interest and provide a very pleasant listen. There was excellent use of language, an interesting and surprising plot (many twists and turns), as well as being a "morality" tale. Never dull.

very well done

The book really held my attention. Hardy is a great writer. The reading is easy on the ears and clear. Considering the classical nature of this work, the quality, and the length, I highly recommend it.

deserves a place among the great classics!

what a ride! twists, turns, misunderstandings, misconceptions, lost love, rivalry, deception, jealousy, and tragedy upon tragedy. this was my first Thomas Hardy listen, there will be many more. I loved this Tale. I couldn't stop listening, couldn't wait to see what happened next. it was also beautifully performed. can't ask for more.