From Library Journal
Hardy's 1866 novel gets the red carpet treatment here. Like Broadview's recent edition of Dracula (Classic Returns, LJ 1/98), this includes a scholarly preface and introduction, a chronicle of Hardy's life, and several appendixes. All that for $9.95 makes this an absolute steal.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In future times, when people want to know what life was like before the Industrial Revolution--what it was to truly see the stars at night, to live within the pulse of Nature's rhythms--they will read Thomas Hardy, or they may listen to Alan Rickman's superb presentation of Hardy's tragic novel. Rickman's voice is masculine and seductive; yet by altering tempo, modulating tone, he becomes Hardy's women and children, utterly compelling as he projects all ranges of emotion. His individualizing dialogue of the human-sized characters, that country chorus who form the backdrop of normality for Hardy's titanic lovers, is brilliant. Hearing it sent me to the library for another Wessex novel. E.J.M. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Sunday Telegraph
"Cover to Cover's unabridged readings of classic novels are in a class of their own."


Review
?Hardy?s world is a world that can never disappear.? ?Margaret Drabble

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with an act of such heartlessness and cruelty that it still shocks today. Michael Henchard, an out-of-work hay-trusser, gets drunk at a fair and for five guineas sells his wife and child to a sailor. When the horror of his act finally sets in, Henchard swears he will not touch alcohol for twenty-one years. Through hard work and acumen, he becomes rich, respected, and eventually the mayor of Casterbridge. But eighteen years after his fateful oath, his wife and daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, return to Casterbridge, and his fortunes steadily decline.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Hardy's 1866 novel gets the red carpet treatment here. Like Broadview's recent edition of Dracula (Classic Returns, LJ 1/98), this includes a scholarly preface and introduction, a chronicle of Hardy's life, and several appendixes. All that for $9.95 makes this an absolute steal.

AudioFile - Yuri Rasovsky

G. K. Chesterton noted that in Hardy￯﾿ﾽs dour novels of the English midland Hardy became a sort of village atheist, brooding and blaspheming over the village idiot. Perhaps, but the broody heaths of Dorset were never more powerfully, more oppressively portrayed. Can one, therefore, claim to enjoy a reading of a Hardy novel? One can if the reader is as superb as Nigel Anthony, who in tone and style nicely communicates all the vividness, beauty and depth, as well as the fatalistic gloom, for which Hardy is justly esteemed. Earthy enough in his spot-on characterizations, he lacks only a certain virility that this reviewer finds an essential wellspring of Hardy￯﾿ﾽs irony. Y.R. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Scott Burnham

The delicate elements inherent in a long novel can easily be lost in adaptation: the comfort of a slowly unfolding tale, the careful pace of the narrative. Yet in the hands of BBC Radio Drama, Hardy￯﾿ﾽs classic becomes even more of a treasure. Michael Henchard, the Mayor of Casterbridge, misguidedly attempts redemption when his wife and daughter return 19 years after he￯﾿ﾽs betrayed them. The tale￯﾿ﾽs drama touches the soul, and the production is sublime the sound effects of early England￯﾿ﾽs countryside are crafted with amazing subtlety; the acting and pace embrace the listener. It￯﾿ﾽs almost decadent to exist in this world for four hours. S.B. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Susan R. Rosenzweig

In a drunken rage Michael Henchard sells his wife and son. Tragedy ensues. Tony Britton￯﾿ﾽs performance is brilliant. He manages to keep all the characters straight while giving them their own voices. In audio format the characters and settings come alive, and the tidbits of humor sprinkled throughout are delightful. For those who have read the book or watched the Masterpiece Theater version, this is a totally different experience and shouldn￯﾿ﾽt be passed over. Britton￯﾿ﾽs presentation delivers a fresh interpretation. S.S.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE￯﾿ﾽs Earphones Award. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Victoria Hallerman