Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read.

This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter.

- Reading time of the complete text: about 11 hours

- Reading time of the summarized text: 37 minutes

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" is a novel written by Thomas Hardy in 1886. Set in a fictional rural England, the story follows Michael Henchard, a hay-trusser who auctions off his wife and daughter while drunk. After realizing his mistake, Henchard vows to abstain from alcohol for 21 years. Years later, his wife returns with their daughter, and Henchard proposes a sham courtship to hide their disgrace. However, complications arise when Henchard falls in love with a woman named Lucetta and hires a Scotsman named Donald Farfrae. Henchard's financial troubles lead to bankruptcy, and Lucetta dies tragically. Henchard's daughter marries Farfrae, and Henchard eventually dies alone. The novel is praised for its dramatic and poetic narrative, but criticized for incorporating too many incidents. It has been adapted into films, TV shows, radio plays, and even an opera.