The mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy

The mayor of Casterbridge is the story of Michael Henchard, a man of violent passions, who sells his wife and child to a sailor at a fair. In the subsequent years by his energy he rises to become the rich, respected Mayor of Casterbridge. However, the sudden reappearance of his wife and her daughter sets off a train of events which gradually underman Henchard's power and reputation, bringing him finally to ruin and degradation. Alone among Hardy's finest characters, Henchard does not despise fame, wealth and social success, and in constructing 'a blundering Titan of self-made man', Hardy creates the most primitive and virile of all his heroes.