Far From the Madding Crowd cover art

Far From the Madding Crowd

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Far From the Madding Crowd

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Jill Masters
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £21.99

Buy Now for £21.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Thomas Hardy brings us an England that once existed but no more. It is rural, traditional, pastoral - a society of mannered conduct that flows like a deep river where powerful currents eddy and swirl. In this powerful novel of love and disillusion, Hardy's heroine is torn between the three men in her life. Passionate but capricious, her romantic involvements have fascinated generations of readers.

It was as a poet that Hardy wished to be remembered, but today critics regard his novels as an even more memorable contribution to English literature for their psychological insight, their instinctive delineation of English character, and their profound presentation of great tragedy.

Public Domain (P)1984 Jimcin Recordings Classics Historical Historical Fiction Romance Victorian Young Adult Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Trumpet-Major cover art
The Return of the Native cover art
Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge cover art
Tess of the D'Urbervilles cover art
A Pair of Blue Eyes cover art
Jude the Obscure cover art
Under the Greenwood Tree cover art
The Custom of the Country cover art
The Woodlanders cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
Under the Greenwood Tree cover art
Anna Karenina cover art
The Mill on the Floss cover art
A Room with a View cover art
Sir Gibbie cover art
Elantris (1 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art

Editor reviews

Author of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy published his epic account of English rural life, Far From the Madding Crowd, in 1874. Spanning years, this story details Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak's complex relationship. Jill Master's performance is perfect for this passionate audiobook. Capturing Hardy's romanticism, Master's British voice is airy and sweet yet dramatic. By consistently modulating her pacing and pitch, Masters ensures that this 15-hour saga captivates. Effortlessly, she handles both male and female voices. Fans of Victorian realist literature will certainly enjoy this complicated audiobook.
All stars
Most relevant  
I adore this classic, a strong female lead characters are always a winner with me however.. Bathsheba is such a frustrating character!!! I felt myself constantly exasperated with her frivolous attitude towards the men she was leading on and her lack of ability to take any sort of responsibility. Overall a lovely story but if you don't get frustrated by her.. well you are a saint./

beautiful story but my word Bathsheba ..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
awful recording, took me months to get through. If this hadn't had been a classic I'd have given up ages ago. But this was a lot cheaper than other versions :)

quality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book at school. English set work in 1978. Still a great read. Narrator really good. I forgot how annoying Boldwood was. Nevertheless, I love a happy ending and that is what I got.

Classic Hardy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a book I've been meaning to read for years and it was a delight. I loved the story and the characters and the narration was excellent. My only criticism was the quality of the recording itself. At times in the car it was really muffled, almost completely inaudible and at one point it completely cut out altogether for a few seconds - Chapter 17 I think this was. However overall it is highly recommended if you can put up with rewinding it a bit here and there.

Excellent story. Great narration. Poor recording.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Definitely a classic but sounds like it was recorded underwater in the 1930's. Be prepared to persevere with the audio - it doesn't really add to the book.

Great story, terrible audio quality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Quite good narration was often spoilt by poor audio quality. I still made it to the end though and, on balance, enjoyed it.

Very poor audio quality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It is a shame that the recording was not good quality as it made it very difficult to listen to at points.

Pretty bad quality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great story, funny writing that isn't picked up by the most recent film version. would have liked more character voice definition though.

a great hardy novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Language and literary illusions may be too dense for many readers, but the prose and cameos are excellent

Quality language and phycological insights

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great story narrator was somewhat monotone. will now watch film and compare. a classic.easy listen

timeless story quite a flat delivery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews