Bedside Lamp English Learning Reader IV: The Mayor of Casterbridge (American Accent, Full 4 Boxes)

Author: Tang Shuzhen / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Mayor of Casterbridge is an important novel written by Thomas Hardy in 1886. The story takes place in 19th-century England. The protagonist, Michael Henchard, works hard and becomes wealthy, rising from an unknown laborer to the mayor's throne. Ultimately, due to his character flaws, he falls victim to fate and dies in poverty and solitude.
Young Michael Henchard was a hay cutter, an honest and kind man. Once, after getting drunk, he sold his wife and daughter to a sailor named Newson for a mere few guineas. Upon sobering up, he regretted his actions deeply, swore to abstain from alcohol for twenty years, and worked hard to build a successful business. He gained respect, became a respected merchant, and even served as the Mayor of Casterbridge. Eighteen years later, when he decided to marry his lover Lucetta, his ex-wife reappeared. Believing her sailor husband had drowned at sea, she brought her daughter, Elizabeth Jane, to seek out Henchard. Thus, he reunited with his ex-wife.
However, due to his jealousy and exclusion of his business partner, Farfrae, as well as his stubborn and obstinate nature, Henchard's business failed, and he lost his mayoral position. After his ex-wife's death, he unexpectedly discovered that his daughter Elizabeth was not his biological child. This caused him great distress, and he began to treat Elizabeth coldly. She had no choice but to move out and live with Lucetta, his old lover. Lucetta, who had originally planned to marry Henchard, later fell in love with Farfrae and married him. Farfrae became both a business and romantic rival to Henchard. Bankruptcy and humiliation left him in a miserable state, and his scandalous act of selling his wife also became public knowledge. Stricken and desperate, he worked for Farfrae to support himself. Elizabeth became his only solace. But his luck did not last long. Newson returned and reunited with his daughter Elizabeth. At Elizabeth's wedding to Farfrae, he was treated coldly. Thus, he quietly left Casterbridge and died in solitude.
This tape is a companion to the book The Mayor of Casterbridge.