I was surprised by how readable The Mayor of Casterbridge was. Often the wordiness of these older books makes them quite tedious to read, but I found this one more delightful than tedious. The writing was detailed in that old-fashioned sort of way, but also amusing and easy to digest. If you, like me, feel as though there are some holes in your education in the classics, I would recommend this as a good place to put a toe back in the water.
It is the story of (you guessed it) the mayor of a British town called Casterbridge. In his youth, he had gotten screaming drunk at a county fair and sold his wife and child to a passing sailor. He regretted his drunken choices and swore off alcohol for 21 years as a result (a vow which he kept). In the meantime, his wife's new husband set sail, and she and the child returned to the town of which the former drunk was now the mayor and most prominent farmer. His past deeds back to haunt him, he falls, step-by-frustrating-step, from grace.
This is one more book I can mark off my 2025 Reading Challenge!
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