{"product_id":"the-mayor-of-casterbridge","title":"The Mayor of Casterbridge","description":"\u003cp\u003eSubtitled \"A Story of a Man of Character,\" Thomas Hardy's 1886 masterpiece stands as one of the most powerful, psychologically devastating tragedies in English literature. The narrative begins with a shocking act of desperation: Michael Henchard, an out-of-work, intoxicated hay-trusser, impulsively auctions off his wife and infant daughter to a stranger at a country fair. Awakening to immediate sobriety and consuming guilt, he swears a solemn twenty-one-year oath to completely abstain from alcohol.The plot fast-forwards nearly two decades to find that his fierce energy and ambition have elevated him to a successful merchant position and the esteemed role of the titular Mayor of Casterbridge. However, his carefully constructed public life begins to systematically disintegrate when his past misdeeds resurface alongside intense business rivalries and complex emotional betrayals. Set against his richly detailed, fictional Wessex landscape, the novel serves as a brilliant examination of fate, character flaws, and human isolation, exploring how an individual's past choices inevitably dictate their ruin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thomas Hardy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49716415496442,"sku":"NEE5\/44\/07172026","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0635\/3387\/5450\/files\/IMG_3773.jpg?v=1784311379","url":"https:\/\/flippedpages.com\/products\/the-mayor-of-casterbridge","provider":"Flipped Pages","version":"1.0","type":"link"}