• Far from the Madding Crowd

  • Penguin English Library
  • By: Thomas Hardy
  • Narrated by: Julie Christie
  • Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)

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Far from the Madding Crowd  By  cover art

Far from the Madding Crowd

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Julie Christie
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Publisher's summary

Penguin Classics presents Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, adapted for listening and now available as a digital audiobook as part of the Penguin English Library series. This abridged audio version is read by the actress Julie Christie.

Hardy's powerful novel of swift sexual passion and slow-burning loyalty centres on Bathsheba Everdene, a proud working woman whose life is complicated by three different men - respectable farmer Boldwood, seductive Sergeant Troy, and devoted Gabriel - making her the object of scandal and betrayal.

Vividly portraying the superstitions and traditions of a small rural community, Far from the Madding Crowd shows the precarious position of a woman in a man's world.

Part of a collection of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives, the Penguin British Library series offers affordable, collectable, quality productions that are perfect for on-the-go listening.

Public Domain (P)2012 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Far from the Madding Crowd

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This is NOT the whole book!

What would have made Far From the Madding Crowd better?

I am sad that I wasted money on this because this is NOT the whole book! I was following along with penguin edition and they would skip paragraphs just to make it shorter. You really miss a lot of the story. I loved Julie Christies voice thou!

What about Julie Christie’s performance did you like?

I loved Julie Christies voice performance!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely, Romantic Story

I really enjoyed this book. While Bathsheba is not the most sympathetic protagonist in the world, her growth as a character is strong. What I really loved was the steadfast love of Gabriel Oak for her. He is a character worth falling in love with.

The narration by Julie Christie is hypnotic and effective.

It's an excellent story, told extremely well. (I do wish, however, that it was unabridged!)

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great performance by Julie Christy.

She is definitely more than a pretty face from the sixties. I had no idea of Julie Christie's talents as an Audible actress. The story is fairly predictable. I usually find English novels of the Thomas Hardy period too slow to hold my attention. However, this performance is well worth the listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bathsheba character ahead of her time.

I thought the narrator was perfect for this book and I really enjoyed the character's transformation through out the novel- Bathsheba Everdeen

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