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StoryPDFThe Mayor of CasterbridgeThomas Hardy

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

Complete text
NovelEnglish

A young laborer, Michael Henchard, makes a disastrous drunken bargain at a country fair. Years later, the consequences of that act approach a life he has rebuilt in Casterbridge, where standing, business rivalry and private relationships depend on a past he cannot fully contain.

45 sections116,274 wordsAbout 8 h 49 min
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About The Mayor of Casterbridge

Public reputation and private obligation develop on different timetables. Henchard's forceful attempts to settle matters quickly often meet circumstances that require patience or trust. The town's markets and customs keep individual decisions within a wider economy, while disclosures change how familiar actions are interpreted by those closest to him.

Reading focus

Watch how Henchard's desire to control an immediate situation creates consequences that outlast his original intention.

This reading edition contains 116,274 words in 45 original sections. Read the text online with adjustable type and three colour themes, or keep a printable PDF.

Author: Thomas Hardy. Language: English. Reading edition: 28 October 2026.

Opening excerpt

One evening of late summer, before the nineteenth century had reached one-third of its span, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors, in Upper Wessex, on foot. They were plainly but not ill clad, though the thick hoar of dust which had accumulated on their shoes and garments from an obviously long journey lent a disadvantageous shabbiness to their appearance just now.

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Contents

All sections
  1. I.21 min
  2. II.8 min
  3. III.8 min
  4. IV.12 min
  5. V.11 min
  6. VI.8 min
  7. VII.13 min
  8. VIII.12 min
  9. IX.14 min
  10. X.7 min
  11. XI.9 min
  12. XII.10 min
  13. XIII.8 min
  14. XIV.15 min
  15. XV.12 min
  16. XVI.11 min
  17. XVII.12 min
  18. XVIII.8 min
  19. XIX.13 min
  20. XX.16 min
  21. XXI.12 min
  22. XXII.17 min
  23. XXIII.13 min
  24. XXIV.14 min
  25. XXV.9 min
  26. XXVI.17 min
  27. XXVII.15 min
  28. XXVIII.8 min
  29. XXIX.14 min
  30. XXX.9 min
  31. XXXI.8 min
  32. XXXII.13 min
  33. XXXIII.13 min
  34. XXXIV.14 min
  35. XXXV.8 min
  36. XXXVI.16 min
  37. XXXVII.12 min
  38. XXXVIII.12 min
  39. XXXIX.12 min
  40. XL.10 min
  41. XLI.17 min
  42. XLII.13 min
  43. XLIII.17 min
  44. XLIV.18 min
  45. XLV.13 min

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Is this the complete The Mayor of Casterbridge?

This edition contains the complete English literary text, with 45 sections and 116,274 words. This reading edition preserves the checked English text and its section order. No study notes have been added.

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