by Thomas Hardy
First published 1886
In the raw market town of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard makes a catastrophic decision: selling his wife and infant daughter while drunk. Years later, he has reinvented himself as a successful grain merchant and town mayor, having sworn off alcohol. When his past suddenly returns—his wife Susan and now-grown daughter arrive in town—Henchard's carefully constructed life begins to unravel. Forced to confront the consequences of his brutal past action, he must navigate a community that knows his darkest secret. As relationships twist and loyalties shift, Henchard battles his own destructive impulses and the judgment of those around him.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, second-chance
Setting: England
Period: Victorian Era
448 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Classics
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, domestic-violence