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Far away from the madding crowd, I have retreated to the bluebell woods, in true Thomas Hardy style, to indulge in some literature.
This is always one of my favourite times of year. The daffodils have faded but the trees are blossoming and buds are appearing amongst the dandelions that refuse to be uprooted. Thomas Hardy was a late-Romantic in his love of nature. Growing up in Higher Bockhampton, in this haven of a cottage, built by his grandfather, Hardy expected and trained to be an architect. Following a long line of builders, Hardy built his own house, Max Gate, and travelled across the country learning his trade. It was on a journey to Cornwall to fix a ruinous church that he met his first wife, Emma.
Hardy's affiliation with his surroundings comes through most clearly in his early novels Under the Green Wood Tree and Far From the Madding Crowd, both of which he wrote as a young man living at the family cottage. Hardy's early work is saturated with spring-like hope, sadly missing from his later, more sober works.
Far From the Madding Crowd starts with Gabriel Oak meditating over his flock as Bathsheba Everdene passes by on her way to visit an aunt. Having lost an item off the back of the cart, Bathsheba pauses on the road whilst her driver collects it. She looks about and concludes she is alone. Carefully, she unwraps a brown paper package and holds the contents directly in front of her face. It is a mirror. She observes, she smiles, she blushes at her own vanity. Bathsheba is introduced to readers as an excessively pretty but self-absorbed girl and, as with most of Hardy's female protagonists, beauty is just as much of a curse as it is a blessing. After she inherits her Uncles' farm, Bathsheba grows into the heroine Victorian England has long been waiting for. Bathsheba is clever, headstrong and fiercely passionate, but has her fair share of human foibles to overcome. Readers can follow this brilliant story of a woman farmer as she struggles against stereotypes, the wild weather of Dorset, the perils of sheep keeping and the tortured lovers she picks up along the way.
I cannot wait to see Carey Mulligan's adaptation so watch out for a review of the Thomas Vinterberg film later this week. A lot of hard core fans have said a new film is unnecessary after the 1967 version starring Julie Christie and I do love the original version. However, you do have to set aside a good three hours to watch it and I am looking forward to seeing what this new adaptation changes to fit into the two hour time limit. I have a few favourite scenes I really hope they don't miss out.
If you haven't read this classic then I urge you try. Hardy's descriptions may be lengthy but his characters glow with vitality and if you are ever in Dorset you will find yourself checking over your shoulder to see if Gabriel is minding his flock in the distance.
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