List $34.95

Written by Thomas Hardy - Performed by John Rowe - Unabridged Fiction - 8 CASSETTES - 12.5 hours

Publisher, Audio Partners (October 1998)

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A Cover to Cover Unabridged Classic. Cover to Cover is a British Line of unabridged classic literature featuring the highest quality recordings at value prices in handsome, collectable retail packages. The entire line carries the exclusive Royal Warrant from his Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. In addition, the British Spoken Word Publishing Association has honored Cover to Cover titles as the Best Unabridged Classic Productions for an unprecedented three years in a row.

Winner of the Gramophone Critic's Choice Award

In a drunken state, Henchard sells his wife and daughter at a fair. Years later, when he is a prominent man and the Mayor of Casterbridge, the woman he sold returns with her daughter. Hardy's structural parallel with Shakespeare's King Lear highlights Henchard's moral character and his incredible struggle.

About the Author: Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is one of the few writers to succeed as both a major novelist and a poet. He is the author of The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Several of his novels have been made into films, notably Far from the Madding Crowd (Schlesinger, 1967) and Tess (Polanski, 1979).

About the Performer: John Rowe spent three years with the Old Vic Company where he appeared in Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and St. Joan. His television credits include Henry VIII, Macbeth, and Coriolanus. He has read many times for Book at Bedtime and Story Time on BBC Radio 4.