The Mayor of Casterbridge

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Set against the backdrop of peaceful southwest England, where Thomas Hardy spent much of his youth, The Mayor of Casterbridge captures the author's unique genius for depicting the absurdity underlying much of the sorrow and humor in our lives. Michael Henchard is an out-of-work hay-trusser who gets drunk at a local fair and impulsively sells his wife, Susan, and baby daughter. Eighteen years later, Susan and her daughter seek him out, only to discover that he has become the most prominent man in Casterbridge. Henchard attempts to make amends for his youthful misdeeds, but his unchanged impulsiveness clouds his relationships in love as well as his fortunes in business. Although Henchard is fated to be a modern-day tragic hero, unable to survive in the new commercial world, his story is also a journey toward love.

©1923 Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

Pitch perfect….story and narration!

Thomas Hardy creates a rich tapestry that is a page turner.

The story, the fully developed characters, time and place, are artfully described. You become immersed in the lives of people in another century. If you like good writing, this is for you.

Loved every minute

This is a classic for a reason. Action-packed and makes you think too. Outstanding performance by the reader. He is able to give each character their own voice without making any of them cartoonish.

Another Great Thomas Hardy

My son is working on a Doctorate in English Lit and Thomas Hardy is his favorite author. So I got curious and started listening to his novels. This one is relatively short and really good though sad. The characters are varied and interesting. Though the book is written in 19th century British english I have no trouble understanding it as an American (USA).
19th century rural Britain lives again through the eyes and genius of Mr. Hardy. I think he would have made a great therapist because he understood so many personality types and writes both genders well. This is a real page turner and held my interest throughout. Simon Vance did a great job narrating as always.

A treasured book for me

so thankful this great performance is included with audible membership. the mayor of casterbridge is a book that my grandfather first gave me when I was a teenager. sincerely enjoyed listening to it again.

A Masterpiece

I studied this in school sixty years ago. This time I enjoyed it so much more.
Brilliantly read. A fascinating insight into the customs and social interactions of country life in the 19th century.

Highly Recommend

I love Hardy and this book is one of my absolute favorites. The narration was excellent. To me this is a novel that gets even better in audio.

Well done

Can’t imagine a better narrator for this novel. Hardy’s outstanding, classic works lend themselves to the Audible format very well.

Hardy at his best

Start anywhere and find beauty in the writing. Fall asleep then awake to more writing that allows you to see beauty in phrases, as well as in the affection between characters. I had already read the book. I now use it to make the best of insomnia.

Tapered off to boring

First I must say the narrator was excellent.

The story really kept my interest for about 2/3 of the book. Then things got tedious and I no longer cared about the characters or their outcome. Feel asleep and never bothered rewinding.