The Mayor Of: Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy’s 1886 novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge , is a powerful Victorian tragedy subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character". It chronicles the spectacular rise and devastating fall of Michael Henchard, whose life is dictated by a single impulsive act of youth and the inescapable consequences that follow.

: Horrified by his actions the next day, Henchard swears an oath to abstain from alcohol for 21 years—the length of his life at that point. The Mayor of Casterbridge

: In a drunken rage at a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard auctions off his wife, Susan, and infant daughter to a sailor for five guineas. Thomas Hardy’s 1886 novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge