Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) is Thomas Hardy \'s fourth novel and his first major literary success.
It deals in themes of love, honour and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian.
The novel is the first to be set in Thomas Hardy \'s Wessex in rural southwest England.
It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, where it gained a wide readership.
Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) is Thomas Hardy \'s fourth novel and his first major literary success