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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge

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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
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About this listen

Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future.

One of the greatest novels in the English language, The Mayor of Casterbridge sees Thomas Hardy at his best, bringing landscape and richly imagined characters to life, and setting the hope of love against the forces of Providence.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2010 Naxos Audiobook Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Thought-Provoking
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This was a very pleasant surprise. I have never read Hardy and was expecting a stodgy Victorian sermon. What I got was a powerful, at times overwhelming book. The character of Henchard must be one of the strongest in literature and his fall, rise and fall again is related in a fast moving and sometimes very modern way. The narration of Anton Lesser is as always superb and add's greatly to the enjoyment of this great book. Highly recommended and I will be keen to try more Thomas Hardy.

The Mayor of Casterbridge

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I don't think I've ever heard such a brilliant audiobook, the reading was superb. IThe Mayor of Casterbridge is Hardy's best (I would say), and the reading lived up to it. Absolute sensitive genius from start to finish, with the reader and the writer.

The only bad thing was the chapter names, chapter 1, chapter 2 etc. I think they may have re-used the word "chapter" and added it to each of a spoken list of numbers, rather than getting Anton Lesser to say "chapter" 46 times. It sounds a bit like a railway announcement! Why do this? To save money? I think it would have been worth paying him extra to say "chapter" each time.

Anton Lesser's voices and sensitivity with the text are fantastic. Deep, powerful and moving!

A work of genius

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The narration is top class. If you've never read any Hardy, Anton Lesser will bring the beauty of his writing to life, so that you will need to read all his works

Some of the best narration I've heard on Audible.

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Anton Lesser managed to navigate Hardy’s arching sentences without ever losing the sense or the forward motion. I was gripped.

A Masterclass in Audiobook narration

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I read this wonderful book 40 years ago, and enjoyed this performance even more. Highly recommended, looking forward to more.

Loved it

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