In Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Ashlee writes:

       In Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Bathsheba gets herself into a predicament. Around the same time frame Bathsheba sends a love letter to Mr. Boldwood and accepts Troy's engagement . There is also a rumor going aroud Weatherbury that there was a bride who was suppose to marry her groom but showed up to the wrong church and the groom thought it was a rejection so he called it off. Towards the end you find out its Troy and his ex fiancé Fanny Robins. Bathsheba tries to explain to Boldwood her thinking at the time of sending the letter but he stays persistent with courting her. For the moment she tells Boldwood that she'll learn to love him by harvest time even though she feels she'll never love him.

            Bathsheba grows fonder for Sergeant Troy and goes on a date with him. He kisses her and then disappears and during that time Bathsheba realizes she loves Troy. Once she's certain about her feelings she tells Boldwood and declines his offer to marry him. He is enraged and looks for Troy. Bathsheba tries to tell Troy not to come to Weatherbury but it was too late because Boldwood locks Troy in a shack.  When Boldwood realizes that the two of them are already legally married he feels betrayed and unloved.

            At the harvest party Bathsheba then realizes that she didn't truly love Troy and because of it she feels regretful. She goes to Gabriel and tells him about everything on how she feels. Throughout the book Bathsheba goes to Gabriel and tells him all that is happening to her and asks for advice.

            Troy and Bathsheba’s marriage is not going well. When in town Troy is with Bathsheba and they run into Fanny. He denies knowing her and that just makes Bathsheba despise him even more. A few chapters later it tells the story how Fanny dies on her trip to Weatherbury and is shown in her coffin holding a baby. Troy tells Bathsheba his heart belongs to Fanny and leaves for good.

            Gabriel becomes bailiff for both Bathsheba and Boldwood’s farm. Rumor is that Troy is dead but is sighted in a circus so Bathsheba gets a letter and calms her nerves for she thought Troy was dead after the realization of his soul mates death. Bathsheba feels Boldwood is insane because of his controlling love for her. While she tries to get rid of Boldwood she gets confused as to why Gabriel hasn't said whether he loves her or not.

            The biggest event of the book happens when Boldwood forces Bathsheba to marry him. Troy comes into town to rescue Bathsheba from Boldwood's crazy ways. In the end, Boldwood shoots Troy and he gets buried with Fanny. For the crime Boldwood committed he gets hung. This book does have a happy ending but I’ll keep that a secret.

            If I were to rate this book on a scale of 1-10 I would rate it about a 5.5. It deserves that rating because it has a good story line but at some parts the dialect of that time period can be confusing and make the reading a little less fluid. I would only recommend this book if someone was into romances and interested in expanding their vocabulary. Overall Far From the Madding Crowd is an enjoyable novel to read.