# The Mayor of Casterbridge

**Author:** Thomas Hardy
**Tags:** Psychological fiction, Fathers and daughters, Wessex (England), Men, Runaway husbands, Atonement, Mayors
**Price:** Free
**Formats:** DOCX, EPUB, FB2, PDF, TXT
**Downloads:** 40
**Added:** 10.07.2026
**URL:** https://samolit.com/books/96072

## Description

In a fit of drunken despair, hay-trusser Michael Henchard impulsively sells his wife and infant daughter at a country fair. Eighteen years later, having vowed abstinence from alcohol, Henchard has clawed his way to prosperity and respectability as the Mayor of Casterbridge. But his dark past, a secret he believes buried, returns to haunt him when his long-lost wife, Susan, and her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, reappear in the town.

Henchard’s life becomes a tumultuous battle against his own volatile character, fueled by pride, jealousy, and a desperate desire for atonement. As secrets unravel and new rivalries emerge, particularly with the ambitious and modern Donald Farfrae, Henchard’s fortunes begin a dramatic decline. Set against the backdrop of a changing rural England, this powerful novel explores the enduring consequences of rash decisions, the complexities of familial bonds, and one man’s tragic struggle against fate and his own self-destructive nature.