#bathsheba everdene/william boldwood

[mandoreviews]

📽️ Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

I watched this when it first came out and didn’t like it very much. But for some reason I wanted to watch it again. I really liked it this time! It’s pretty slow-paced, so it feels kind of long. But it’s a really good story, and I enjoyed it.

Sex/nudity: 3/10 (mild sexual references and innuendoes, implied sex, kissing, groping)

Language: 1/10 (mild, if any; I don’t remember any)

Violence: 2/10 (what is shown is fairly mild, but there are some dead bodies - both human and animal)

Overall rating: 7/10

[sadpoeticandgay]

bathsheba choose wrong

(it’s okay i’ll choose you william 🙏🙏)

[hungergamesbookclub]

Poll for THG Book Club's First Read!

What book should we read for our first Suzanne Read? Summaries of each book and how it relates to THG under the "read more" after the poll if you need more info to choose.

Summary: In Thomas Hardy's first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

How it relates to THG: "Katniss Everdeen owes her last name to Bathsheba Everdene, the lead character in Far From the Madding Crowd. The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts." Suzanne Collins, 2010

Summary: Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus.

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

How it relates to THG: The namesake of Coriolanus Snow (ft. Volumnia)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Summary: Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

How it relates to THG: Quoted in the epigraph of TBOSAS

Spartacus by Howard Fast

Summary: The story of a slave uprising in the ancient Roman Empire.

How it relates to THG: "There’s a basis for the war, historically, in the Hunger Games, which would be the third servile war, which was Spartacus’ war, where you have a man who is a slave who is then turned into a gladiator who broke out of the gladiator school and led a rebellion and then became the face of the war. So there is a historical precedent for that arc for a character.  But I think I needed the freedom to create elements that I wasn’t going to neatly find in history." Suzanne Collins, 2013

Summary: A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. By day, they discover fantastic wildlife and dazzling beaches, learning to survive; at night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast. Orphaned by society, it isn't long before their innocent childhood games devolve into a savage, murderous hunt …

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

How it relates to THG: "One of my favorite books - I read it every couple of years." Suzanne Collins

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Far from the Madding Crowd

Rating: PG-13

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple, Jessica Barden, Hilton McRae, Harry Peacock, Bradley Hall, Sam Phillips, Tilly Vosburgh, Victor McGuire, Jamie Lee-Hill

Release year: 2015

Genres: romance, drama

Blurb: Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer captivated by her fetching wilfulness; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor. Bathsheba’s choices and passions explore the nature of relationships and love...as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance.

[spokenrealms]

Far from the Madding Crowd (1895 Edition)

Set in rural Victorian England, Far from the Madding Crowd describes the life and relationships of a woman Farmer, Bathsheba Everdene. First with the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, then her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, and finally, the prodigal soldier Sergeant Frank Troy. Set in Thomas’s imaginary county of Wessex, it deals with themes of love, honor, and betrayal, against a backdrop of the…

[o-avosetta]

Currently reading my first Thomas Hardy novel, and my mind immediately went to Stardew Valley crossover. Here, have a prompt:

Farmer = Bathsheba Everdene

Shane = Gabriel Oak, but with chickens instead of sheep

Problematic!Qi = William Boldwood

Asshole!Alex = Francis Troy

Will probably never write it myself because I love Alex and Qi, so

[tctmp]

Drama  Romance

[jomiddlemarch]

The one who was all to me

She married William Boldwood. Not because he had a splendid house and acres of parkland, the windows cleverly placed to make the most of the vista and the sunsets, though he did. Not because he was a fine gentleman with a library full of books and a harp, his knotted cravat silk, his riding boots polished to a mirror’s sheen, though he was. Not because it was expected and not because she admired him, though it was and she did.

Bathsheba married William Boldwood because he sang with her at the feast, his baritone clear and true, though she heard in its tone that he would have kept singing even if his voice trembled. Because he knew every word and she could tell he knew what they meant and how he was asking her a question the whole time. Because he watched her as she sang with a longing she understood she could gratify—and found, suddenly as a match was struck, she wanted to. She knew she would not need to say very much and that he would pick up her hand in his when she spoke; she had not known he would bring her palm to his lips to kiss her there or that she would close her hand around to caress to keep it. She had not known how sweet his smile would be when he saw.

They had three years. She asked to plant more barley and fewer oats and he agreed. She asked to start a school for the village girls, a proper school, for the twelve most likely to begin with, and he agreed, nodding but not laughing. She did not give him a son and apologized for it; he refused to accept it, saying she was young and there was time, that she was all in all to him. When a poor girl was found on the brink of death with a newborn child, Bathsheba asked for the apothecary to be called and William gave her to coins to pay from his own pocket. He let her send the maid to Bathsheba’s dowry farm, let her name the baby Will Robin.

A fever came and few died. A grandmother, two nursing babies, a young boy already ill with consumption. And William Boldwood, who came home from riding and said,

“My head aches, I fear I’m unwell.”

He did not die in a day or a day and a night. Bathsheba nursed him herself, fed him broth from a silver spoon with his crest on the handle, lifted his head for him to sip from a cup of water. She gave him medicine the physician left after shaking his head with a mixture of sagacity and resignation, a particular sorrow that a gentleman of long acquaintance would shortly be departing. When nothing worked, she brewed her own teas from herbs she remembered were supposed to help, peppermint and chamomile, boneset and lemon balm, and he choked them down. She read to him and she sang every song she could every recall he’d smiled to hear and she prayed, not well but nothing to lose. She saw how he tried to rally and what it cost him; she saw when he decided it cost too much.

“Gabriel Oak,” he said, his voice halfway ruined with catarrh.

“What? Mr. Oak is fine, he’s managing the farm perfectly well, the flock is thriving. You needn’t worry about that,” Bathsheba said, dipping a soft cloth in water with a handful of lavender buds thrown in. The lavender did nothing for the fever; William still burned to the touch but the scent was pleasant, the reminder of happier days, of summer mornings when the fragrance came in through open windows like laughter.

“When I’m gone, marry him. He’ll help you,” William said.

“But he’s not a gentleman!” Bathsheba exclaimed.

“I’ve a sense that doesn’t make much difference, facing eternity,” he said, beginning to smile before he coughed. When he finished, she wiped his face with the cloth but he reached up to take her hand, to hold her still. “He’s a good man, steady, and he loves you. Has loved you all this time. I know.”

“How do you know?” she asked, not arguing that he would live. She saw in his dark eyes he noticed, that it was a relief and a disappointment. She saw that he loved her and meant to leave her.

“I have seen his expression in my own looking-glass these three years. And the year before, before you married me. I’ve seen how he turns away. And how he cannot help turning back.”

“I don’t need anyone,” Bathsheba said. William still held her hand in his and there was some strength left in him. Just not enough for this world.

“You mayn’t. You’re the most independent woman I’ve ever met. The most self-reliant soul. But it is still a good thing to be loved by someone worthy,” he said, squeezing her hand. “It is till good to have someone’s hand to hold when it grows dark.”

“What if I don’t love him?”

“You’re not a liar, my dear. Not to me and not to yourself. I don’t think you’d lie to Gabriel. He won’t ask you, you’ll have to say something,” William said. He hadn’t spoken this much, this long, in days. He looked something beyond tired.

“I’ll do what’s right, you must know that,” she said softly. He wanted to shut his eyes, to turn his face towards the light from the window. “Rest now, William. It’s all right.”

She married Gabriel Oak. Not because he made every arrangement she couldn’t face, the coffin and the stone, telling the people who worked for her she grieved in her own way, though he did. Not because William had made it his dying wish or request or blessing, though he did. Not because he asked, because he didn’t and not because she couldn’t think of what else to do, because she could.

She married Gabriel Oak because he waited when she asked him into her grand parlor and in his rough clothes, he was all she wanted to look at. Because his eyes were grey and filled with the most patient longing, though she did not know what to say and could not have sung a note, her voice half-ruined with weeping. Because when she lifted a hand, he took it and he came to her instead of drawing her to him, because he murmured there now, sweetheartas he stroked her hair and only kissed her forehead though he held her close, so very close.

The baby came quickly, within the year; William had been right, she was young and there was time enough. Just enough for the midwife to attend to the delivery, instead of Gabriel, just enough time for him to brush the loose hair back from her flushed cheeks as the baby cried, indignant at the cool air, soothed only by her mother’s breast.

Gabriel said they might call the baby Wilhelmina, but Bathsheba shook her head.

“Her name is Ruth, because whither thou go, I shall go. He’d like that better, I think.”

“You’re all in all to me,” Gabriel said. She heard William saying it too, the memory like a charm. She closed her eyes and felt the swaddled baby in her arms, Gabriel’s hand on their daughter’s head. If someone else watched over them all, she couldn’t, didn’t mind it. She didn’t mind it at all.

[guiltyonsundays]

Miss Bathsheba Everdene really said should I pick a man with my head

my heart

or my pussy

and then proceeded to make the worst possible choice

[the-geeky-truth]

Curious Concept: Far from the Madding Crowd

A young woman spends an eternity trying to pick the right husband out of three suitors - but two of them are garbage and the third is flawless, so her choice should have been clear from the very start.

[claudia1829things]

"FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" (1967) Review

"FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" (1998) Review To my knowledge, there have been five adaptations of Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel, "Far From the Madding Crowd". One of them is even a modern day adaptation. I have not seen this modern version of Hardy's novel. But I have seen at least three adaptations, including the 1967 version directed by John Schlesinger.

"FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" - at least the 1967 version - has been highly regarded by critics, moviegoers and fans of Hardy's novel for nearly five decades. It is the adaptation that other ones have been measured against . . . much to their detriment. "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" was a different direction for Schlesinger. It would prove to be the first of five period productions directed by him. Schlesinger and screenwriter Frederic Raphael stuck as closely to Hardy's novel as they possibly could. The movie was not a hundred percent adaptation of Hardy's novel, but it was pretty close. Anyone familiar with Hardy's novel know the tale. It begins with a young 19th century Englishwoman named Bathsheba Everdene, living on a farm with her aunt, Mrs. Hurst. She meets Gabriel Oak, a former shepherd who has leased and stocked a sheep farm. Gabriel falls in love with Bathsheba and eventually proposes marriage. Although she likes Gabriel, Bathsheba values her independence too much and rejects his marriage proposal. Gabriel's fortunes take a worse for turn, when his inexperienced sheep dog drives his flock of sheep over a cliff, bankrupting him. Bathsheba, on the other hand, inherits her uncle's prosperous estate. Their paths crosses again, and she ends up hiring Gabriel as her new shepherd. Bathsheba has also become acquainted with her new neighbor, the wealthy farmer John Boldwood, who becomes romantically obsessed with her after she sends him a Valentine's Day card as a joke. He sets about wooing her in a persistent manner that she finds difficult to ignore. But just as Bathsheba is about to consider Mr. Boldwood as a potential husband, Sergeant Frank Troy enters her life and she becomes infatuated with him. Frank was set to marry one of Bathsheba's former servants, a young woman named Fanny Robin. Unfortunately, the latter showed up at the wrong church for the wedding and an angry and humiliated Frank called off the wedding. Bathsheba finds herself in the middle of a rather unpleasant love triangle between Boldwood and Frank, while Gabriel can only watch helplessly as the situation develops into tragedy. "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" is a beautiful movie to behold . . . visually. One can credit the movie's sweeping and colorful look to its iconic cinematographer Nicolas Roeg. Thanks to the latter, the English counties of Wiltshire and Dorset never looked lovelier. Not surprisingly, Roeg earned a BAFTA nomination for his work. The movie also benefited from Richard Macdonald's production designs, which did an excellent job in recreating rural England in the mid 19th century. This was especially apparent in those scenes that featured Gabriel's arrival at Shottwood, and his attempts to get hired as a bailiff or a shepherd at a hiring fair; the harvest meal at the Everdene farm; Bathsheba's meeting with Frank in Bath; the rural fair attended by Bathsheba and Mr. Boldwood; and the Christmas party held by Mr. Boldwood. I will not pretend that I found Richard Rodney Bennett's score particularly memorable. But I must admit that it blended well with the movie's plot and Schlesinger's direction. I also noticed that Bennett added traditional English folk songs in various scenes throughout the movie. I have seen at least two movie versions and one television adaptation of Hardy's novel. And it occurred to me that the main reason why I ended up enjoying all three adaptations so much is that I really liked Hardy's tale. I really do. More importantly, all three adaptations, including this 1967 movie, did an excellent job in capturing the novel's spirit. With a running time of 169 minutes, "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" took its time in conveying Hardy's story . . . with a few little shortcuts. And thanks to Schlesinger's direction and Raphael's screenplay, the movie not only recaptured both the idyllic nature of 19th century rural England, but also its harsh realities. More importantly, the movie brought alive to the screen, Hardy's complex characters and romances. Hollywood once made a movie about a woman torn between three men in 1941's "TOM, DICK, AND HARRY" with Ginger Rogers. But the complexity between the one woman and the three men was nothing in compare to this tale. Especially, when the leading lady is such a complex and ambiguous character like Bathsheba Everdene. Another aspect of "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" that I enjoyed were the interactions between the movie's leads and the supporting cast who portrayed Bathsheba's employees. Like her relationships with Gabriel, Frank and Mr. Boldwood; the leading lady's relationships with her employees - especially the women who worked inside her home - proved to be very interesting. There was a good deal of controversy when Julie Christie was announced as the actress to portray Bathsheba Everdene. Apparently, the media did not consider her capable of portraying the tumultuous mid-Victorian maiden . . . or any other period character. Well, she proved them wrong. Christie gave a very skillful and nuanced performance as the ambiguous Bathsheba, capturing the character's passion, vanity and at times, insecurity. Terence Stamp was another actor more associated with the Swinging Sixties scene in London, but unlike Christie, his casting did not generate any controversy. I might as well place my cards on the table. I think Stamp proved to be the best Frank Troy I have seen on screen, despite the first-rate performances of the other two actors I have seen in role. He really did an excellent job in re-creating Frank's charm, roguishness and unstable nature. Thanks to Stamp's performance, I can see why Schlesinger became so fascinated with the character. Despite Christie and Stamp's popularity with moviegoers, the two actors who walked away with nominations and an award were Peter Finch and Alan Bates. No matter how interesting all of the other characters were, I personally found the William Boldwood character to be the most fascinating one in Hardy's tale. And Peter Finch, who won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor did a superb job in bringing the character to life. Finch beautifully re-captured the nuances of a character that I not only found sympathetic, but also a bit frightening at times. Alan Bates earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the stalwart Gabriel Oak, which I believe he fully deserved. I think portraying such a minimalist character like Gabriel must be quite difficult for any actor. He is a character that required real skill and subtlety. Bates certainly did the job. The actor managed to convey the passion that Gabriel harbored for Bathsheba without any theatrical acting and at the same time, convey the character's introverted and sensible nature. The movie also benefited from some skillful and solid work from its supporting cast that included Golden Globe nominee Prunella Ransome, who portrayed the tragic Fanny Robin; Fiona Walker (from 1972's "EMMA"); Alison Leggatt; John Barrett; and iconic character actor, Freddie Jones. As much as I enjoyed "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD", there were some aspects of the production that I found troublesome. Earlier, I had pointed out that Schlesinger had seemed so fascinated by the Frank Troy character. And while this contributed to Terence Stamp's presence in the movie, Schlesinger's handling of the character threatened to overshadow the entire movie. Quite frankly, he seemed a bit too obsessed with Frank for my tastes. This heavy emphasis on Frank - especially in two-thirds of the movie - also seemed to overshadow Bathsheba's relationship with Gabriel Oak. At one point, I found myself wondering what happened to the character. Worse, the chemistry between Julie Christie and Alan Bates had somewhat dissipated by the movie's last act to the point that it barely seemed to exist by the end of the movie. And Schlesinger allowed the "ghost" of Frank Troy to hover over Bathsheba and Gabriel's future relationship by ending the movie with a shot of a toy soldier inside the Everdeen-Oak household. No wonder Stamp was credited as the male lead in this film. There were other aspects of "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" that either troubled me or failed to impress me. I am at a loss on how Prunella Ransome earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Fanny Robin. Mind you, she gave a very good performance. But she was on the screen for such a small amount of time that there seemed to be no opportunity for the narrative to delve into her character. Ransome's Fanny came off as a plot device and a part of me cannot help but blame Hardy's original novel for this failure. Although I cannot deny that Nicholas Roeg's cinematography was visually beautiful to me; I also found myself annoyed by his and Schlesinger's overuse of far shots. It reminded me of how director William Wyler and cinematographer Franz F. Planer nearly went overboard in their use of far shots in the 1958 western, "THE BIG COUNTRY". I read somewhere that Alan Barrett had earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Costume Designs for this film. I do not mean to be cruel, but how in the hell did that happened? I have to be frank. I was not impressed with the costumes featured in this film. Although I managed to spot a few costumes that struck me as a well-done re-creation of fashion in the mid-to-late 1860s, most of the other costumes looked as if they had been rented from a warehouse in Hollywood or London. Not impressed at all. Aside from my complaints, I enjoyed "FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" very much. A good deal of delight in the film originated with Thomas Hardy's original tale. But if I must be honest, a good deal of filmmakers have screwed up a potential adaptation with either bad writing, bad direction or both. Thankfully, I cannot say the same about "FAR FROM MADDING CROWD". Thanks to the first-rate artistry of the film's crew, a well-written screenplay by Frederic Raphael, a very talented cast led by Julie Christie; director John Schlesinger did an excellent in bringing Hardy's tale to the screen.

[fandomsbyladymelodrama]

For those who don’t know, Gabriel/Bathsheba are just Jorah/Daenerys 1870s-English-countryside style. Someday I’ll write a mashup fic to prove it ;) Seriously though, OTP for lyfeeeeeee. And the 2015 version especially is just mmm yes please <3

[mywingsareonwheels]

Finally watched the 2015 “Far From the Madding Crowd” (spoilers follow...)

Thoughts/feelings thus:-

1. Carey Mulligan made me love Bathsheba in a way I hadn’t before. Her competence and her courage and her ruthless self-awareness and her humour. Please can people cast Mulligan in basically everything? She’s an extraordinary actor and just seems to be getting better and better over time.

2. Matthias Schoenhaerts is perfect as Gabriel Oak, significantly better even than Nathaniel Parker was in the 1998 adaptation. Helps that everything that annoyed me about Oak is rather fixed by this adaptation, mind. ;-) Loved him. Competent and loyal and hot. <3  And this was therapeutic for me for reasons I shall not go into.

3. OH GODS MICHAEL SHEEN AS BOLDWOOD okay I’ll come back to this.

4. The music. Fucking HELL the music. English folk music is my favourite of all music anyway and, just. Arrangements by ELIZA CARTHY AAAAAAAH. Working songs, celebratory songs, sad songs. And bullshit toxic masculinity songs having consequences....

5. Dorset-porn. I am here for it. :-) Gorgeous countryside with folk music (and Vaughan Williams-type folky classical) = also here for.

6. My partner playing “spot the stately home we have blatantly visited” on Boldwood’s house. (Claydon House, Bucks, yep, we were right we have indeed been there. :-) )

7. Carey Mulligan has a gorgeous, *gorgeous* singing voice.

8. Nope still not ready to talk about Michael Sheen as Boldwood.

9. Tom Sturridge as Sergeant Troy rather disappointing and the one weakish link in the cast; I mean, not *bad*, not at all, and really good in places but Jonathan Firth was possibly the best thing about the 1998 adaptation, and Sturridge can’t really compete. Also my partner and I kept shouting at other characters to kick Troy in the balls, but that’s not Sturridge’s fault, that’s just because Sergeant Troy is the worst. ;-)

10. Supporting cast super. Loved the Liddy, loved the Fanny Robbin, loved the farmworkers. Shame no Cainy Ball, but you can’t have everything.

11. Loved how much we see of Bathsheba being a good boss, and good at her job generally. And being so much more suited to being a farmer than a “lady”.

12. I like that Mulligan plays Bathsheba as a) clearly immediately taken with and attracted to Gabriel - it makes everything so much more believable, b) initially somewhat attracted to Boldwood too, even though in a much more low-key way than her attraction to either Gabriel or Troy.

13. I am glad I remembered about the bit with Gabriel’s dog so I could give content warning for my very dog-loving (and sheep-loving!) partner. <3

14. I loved the focus on how well Bathsheba and Gabriel work together. How much she learns from him, but also how he learns from her. I’ve not seen an adaptation before that really demonstrates how well-suited they are, how much they are partners. How equal and joyful and mutually supportive their marriage will be.

15. So. Yes.

a. I mean I started off with a lot of Michael Sheen feelings anyway.

b. And now I have many many Boldwood feelings, which I have not had before, but... oh goodness.

c. I thought the end of his plot was rushed a little, and I’d have liked more time on it and more of the details of his trial and the aftermath, though I can see that couldn’t be the priority.

d. UGH HE DOES FOLK HARMONIES and I had to pause and have a complete flail because MICHAEL SHEEN WAS FOLK SINGING IN BEAUTIFUL HARMONY WITH CAREY MULLIGAN and I needed a moment. My partner regarded this as 100% fair enough. ;-)

e. The mutual respect and liking and... eventually weird almost-metamour relationship between Boldwood and Gabriel is I think one of Hardy’s masterstrokes, and makes everything so much more powerful. I have some theories as to what Boldwood wanted for Gabriel if he himself had married Bathsheba. Is he just being a gracious and grateful winner? I’m not sure that’s all there is. I am also at least 90% sure that one of the reasons Boldwood does what he does at the end is because the moment Troy reappears he knows he can’t have Bathsheba himself, he has no hope there, so he's not just freeing her but also clearing the way for her and Gabriel. Which he does, and to hell with the consequences for himself. 

f. Not excusing everything Boldwood does, let alone suggesting he’d make even a half-decent partner to Bathsheba. Gods. No. *shudders* Just, I like that there’s room for compassion and sympathy (and, frankly, heartbreak) for him in this.

g. Michael Sheen’s eyes are an acting class. Fucking hell. <3 (I mean also the rest of him, but... *goodness*.)

h. Did I mention that feelings? FEELINGS.

16. On a very *VERY* shallow note, Troy’s meant to be the pretty one of the three men but... *ogles Matthias Schoenhaerts and Michael Sheen instead*

17. Oh Fanny Robbin and Young George. :(

18. YES BUT WHAT DID SHE CALL THE SHEEP SHE REARED?! WE NEED TO KNOW!

[doctors-star]

love with your - dare i say forever?

It falls to Bathsheba, more often than not, to listen to the farmhands and attend to correspondence and run the gig into town with examples of their produce to demand good recompense for their efforts. If the other landlords find it unusual to treat with the wife, or the workers to bring their gripes and worries to her, or the bank to receive accurate and careful statements and payments in her own fair hand, then it is not ever mentioned to her face.

it’s exam season chaps and i wrote this instead of revising. if it is, therefore, a little more about backache than one might expect then, well. i’ve been sitting at a desk a lot of late. sometimes you just have a revelation, and that revelation is that boldwood is a stay-at-home dad, and then here we are. enjoy.

[dwxyz5993]

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Oh god. I love it so much <3

[thestrangegirl091200]

A moodboard for Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

Pictures not mine.