The Mayor of Casterbridge

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Tony Britton

Exclusively from Audible

This audiobook is about the rise and fall of Michael Henchard. While out-of-work he gets drunk at a fair and impulsively sells his wife and baby for five guineas to a sailor. Eighteen years later he is reunited with his wife and daughter, who discover that he has gained wealth and respect and is now the most prominent man in Casterbridge. Though he attempts to make amends he is no less impulsive and once again loses everything due to bad luck and his violent, selfish and vengeful nature.

In this dramatic audiobook, Hardy sympathetically portrays a deeply flawed tragic hero, searching for love and acceptance from his community. It poses the question: do we shape our own fate or is the outcome inevitable? This tragic tale is played out against the vivid backdrop of a close-knit Dorsetshire town.

Thomas Hardy was an English writer and one of the most significant novelists and poets of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was greatly influenced by Charles Dickens and William Wordsworth.

Narrator Biography

In 1952, Tony Britton came to major attention after his role as Rameses in The Firstborn at London's Winter Garden Theatre. A renowned classical stage star, he has also appeared in numerous British films since the 1950s; most notably Operation Amsterdam (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). In 1975, he won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Nearly Man. From 1983-1990, he starred in the long running BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up alongside Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan. In 2013 he performed in a Gala Performance of King Lear at the Old Vic, London. Over the years Tony has lent his soothing voice to a huge collection of audio productions including Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn and Anthony Trollope's An Old Man's Love.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

great story and narration

an engrossing novel with beautiful prose in the hands of a great narrator enjoyed every minute

Happiness..occasional..in a general drama of pain

"Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain."

"Life is an oasis which is submerged in the swirling waves of sorrows and agonies."

Never have I found a couple of lines in a novel that so perfectly sum up the writer's oeuvre for me. To those, I'd add, "Gloom, despair and agony on me" from an old TV song.

This was my first Hardy novel, reading it last July. In the six-plus months since, I've made myself a Hardy punching bag: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Return of the Native, and Far from the Madding Crowd.

I may need Treatment.

This Hardy tragic novel, published in 1886, was set in the first half of the 19th Century. Still, the set up is far-fetched compared to the other three. Here we have a drunken Michael Henchard who sells his wife and baby girl Eliza-Jane to a sailor.

You think that's bad.... If anyone can transform bad into worse, blue into black, it's Hardy.

After recovering from his hangover, Henchard repents and desperately searches for his family to no avail. He gives up booze cold turkey, becomes a successful merchant farmer and is elected Mayor of Casterbridge. The former Mrs. Henchard returns with daughter Eliza-Jane years later when the girl is 18. The story takes S-curves and turnabouts until Henchard's pride gets the best of him, he returns to booze and he's ruined emotionally and publicly.

I'd say this story has a few morals:

1. Drink in moderation.

2. No matter how bad things get, never sell your wife or children.

3. "Pride goeth before destruction; and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18, Bible, KJV

Wonderful Book!

This amazing writing by Thomas Hardy kept me spellbound until. the end. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it as the beginning seemed almost ludicrous: a man selling his wife! But it was intricately woven into a fascinating tale that I will always remember.

Tangled Webs

Tony Britten did a bang-up job as narrator with this book. He has the voice of a crusty old English butler holding forth after work regaling the staff at the kitchen table. Michael Henchard led a rough and tumble life so "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is a rough and tumble story. I hadn't read this book since the seventies so while I knew the story, the details were hazy. Britten's narration refreshed my memory and illuminated details which eluded me when I only read. So I must say, as my eyesight deteriorates, there are compensating benefits in this age of audio books.

Many books written at this time were about the ruling classes, the landed and educated. The characters in this book like many other Hardy works are working folk, tradesmen and farmers...men and women with dirt under their fingernails. There is scarce a member of the gentry to be found. There are enough twists, turns and setbacks in the plot to even satisfy the modern sensibilities. The hero is a man who sold his wife and daughter to a sailor. No lords or ladies here. Yet, the hero is a likable and good man...hard but almost noble...and he pays a price. When the wife and daughter return, the tale becomes complicated with truths told; truths untold; truths at long last revealed; promises made and promises both kept and not kept. At the end the day, Thomas Hardy makes me feel I know these folks; have a kind of understanding of their ways which along with spending several pleasant hours is all that one can demand from a novelist.

A classic that is still good today

The voices and the characterizations were very good. The story came alive. A great story and a great audio.

Brilliant rendering of a masterpiece

I have listened to scores of audiobooks
and have established a list of favorite readers. Tony Britton goes straight to the top three or so. His vocal dexterity brings to life the large cast of characters, each with their own unique voices, and his narration is measured and musical without aiming for unnecessary effects. The whole book was wondrously enjoyable, and Hardy’s genius shone out throughout with an impact I was unable to appreciate fully when I read the book many years ago. This is the audiobook experience at its best.

Terrific though plodding after the halfway point

If you love a good Thomas Hardy story, this won’t disappoint. Masterfully read, it unfolds with one Hardy-esque twist after another that has you silently shouting, “Don’t do it!” while eagerly listening to hear what with unfold as the result. Only criticism is that it lags and seems to go on a bit too long, but that is doubtless a modern reader’s impatience. Overall, it is definitely worth the listen.

One of my Favorites

I absolutely adore Thomas Hardy. His story telling is just so real. His characters are multidimensional and so vibrant. He takes a look at the working class with an eye of sincerity that most authors simply lack. This was one of my favorite books. Unlike in many of his other books, Hardy starts right out with the meat of the story and keeps the number of characters to a minimum. The story moves along with many twists and turns and completely kept my attention.

The narrator was delightful as well. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book and highly recommend it to anyone who has ever liked classical literature.

Great reading

A beautiful narration of a great book. Thoroughly enjoyable. I had forgotten so much since my first reading.

Excellent narration of a beautiful novel

Although not my favourite Hardy novel, I was still as entranced as always by his prose and plot line. This particular narration is fantastic, dramatic and very well executed, as Tony Britton brought considerable life and liveliness to all the characters. I highly recommend this audiobook!