The Mayor of Casterbridge

Michael Henchard gets drunk at a fair and sells his wife and child for five guineas to a sailor. In that drunken act are the roots of the tragedy that ensues. Henchard is cast in the heroic mould: he proves to be violent, selfish, greedy and crude - but at the same time is magnanimous, humble and with a grandeur of passion that renders his character at once complex and true. In depicting such a man, Hardy demonstrates profound psychological understanding, deeply rooted in his native Dorset.