Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Mayor of Casterbridge
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Buy Now for £15.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
Exclusively from Audible
This audiobook is about the rise and fall of Michael Henchard. While out-of-work he gets drunk at a fair and impulsively sells his wife and baby for five guineas to a sailor. Eighteen years later he is reunited with his wife and daughter, who discover that he has gained wealth and respect and is now the most prominent man in Casterbridge. Though he attempts to make amends he is no less impulsive and once again loses everything due to bad luck and his violent, selfish and vengeful nature.
In this dramatic audiobook, Hardy sympathetically portrays a deeply flawed tragic hero, searching for love and acceptance from his community. It poses the question: do we shape our own fate or is the outcome inevitable? This tragic tale is played out against the vivid backdrop of a close-knit Dorsetshire town.
Thomas Hardy was an English writer and one of the most significant novelists and poets of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was greatly influenced by Charles Dickens and William Wordsworth.
Narrator Biography
In 1952, Tony Britton came to major attention after his role as Rameses in The Firstborn at London's Winter Garden Theatre. A renowned classical stage star, he has also appeared in numerous British films since the 1950s; most notably Operation Amsterdam (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). In 1975, he won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Nearly Man. From 1983-1990, he starred in the long running BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up alongside Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan. In 2013 he performed in a Gala Performance of King Lear at the Old Vic, London. Over the years Tony has lent his soothing voice to a huge collection of audio productions including Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn and Anthony Trollope's An Old Man's Love.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Mayor of Casterbridge
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms T.
- 04-04-21
An enthralling read
A magnificent reading by Tony Britton which does full justice to Hardy's majestic tale of fortune's rise and fall
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-02-22
Wonderful classic
A gripping period tale. Full of interesting characters; an almost Dickensian cast. Set in early 1800s.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Barua
- 11-10-22
Classic: read with sensitivity and care
Perhaps the most Shakespearean of Hardy’s novels (Henchard is like Lear: more sinned against than sinning) + comic interludes of the pub. Enjoyed revisiting it especially because it was so excellently read by Tony Britton. Loved his range of accents: from Farfray’s Scottish brogue to Elizabeth Jane’s West Country. His reading added a depth and texture to the text that improved my enjoyment of this classic. Highly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hes
- 11-12-20
Very Good
I’ve never read Thomas Hardy’s but have been listening to them this is now my third & I love them. Tony Britton does an excellent job of narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- coffeepot
- 16-01-22
Riveting
I loved this, twists and turns with a thread of bygone values running through. I listened from start to finish and when I took breaks for sleep, I woke only to carry on. I cried at the end. This will be such a memorable book for me
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacki
- 31-07-20
Outstanding
I love Thomas Hardy but this has to be one of his very best. Interesting story, characters brought vividly to life by Tony Britton's brilliant narration. Just absolutely loved it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms. C. Christie
- 02-01-24
How good narrater was firstly , very visual , close eyes and characters come to life , Always loved this book
Not sure there was anything that I didn’t like maybe starting this so late as my audio has just finished snd this is long ! !
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz
- 24-08-15
Compelling, Cruel, But Ultimately Redemptive?
What made the experience of listening to The Mayor of Casterbridge the most enjoyable?
The large ensemble of characters - as portrayed by Tony Britton - are all clearly delineated and his choice of accents and way of speaking really bring out the nuances of their personalities, class and position in society, essential to the understanding of the story. Real tour-de-force performance from Mr Britton.
What did you like best about this story?
The story is not as unremittingly bleak as the most famous of Hardy's novels, and the glimpses of possible happiness (Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae at the end of the novel?) serve to emphasise the tragedy the main story of Michael Henchard. The imagery of the starved goldfinch as the trigger for Elizabeth-Jane's forgiveness (but her step-father's ignorance of that forgiveness) is unbelievably powerful.
Which character – as performed by Tony Britten – was your favourite?
Henchard - complex, proud to the point of stupidity, honourable, emotional and impulsive. One of literature's great characters and portrayed extremely well by Tony Britton. I have to say that it took a few minutes for me to settle to Tony Britton's narration (it was those horrible memories of the dreadful 80s comedies he did), but once I'd got past that his reading was flawless.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Beware of what you want, you may get it ...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 12-07-21
Gripping, and infuriating (in a good way)
Another chirpy upbeat pastoral idyll from Hardy. Tony Britton does a superb job of creating fully realised and distinct characters (well, I guess Hardy helped). Repeatedly shouting out in frustration "Don't do that Henchard, you prick" as our protagonist makes another in a sequence of appallingly bad decisions makes for a fun listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. S. E. Binns
- 12-05-15
The Mayor of Casterbridge
What did you like most about The Mayor of Casterbridge?
Thomas Hardy is a Master Story teller
Who was your favorite character and why?
The Mayor (original one) was my favourite as he was really hard working and despite his appalling behaviour early on he tried to put things right
Which character – as performed by Tony Britten – was your favourite?
As above
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful