Far From the Madding Crowd

This book is by Thomas Hardy, an English novelist of the early 20th century.  The heroine is Bathsheba, but she is a tragic character, struggling against her passions and social circumstances, a favorite topic for writers of this time.  Three different men love her and want her as their wife, but her capricious folly and skewed ideas of what love means cause her to make tragic choices.  The writing style is very descriptive and I especially admired his description of a stormy night where I could feel and wind and cold and see and hear the lightning, etc.  It is also a lesson in the agrarian life of its characters.  The societal dos and don'ts limit the desires of the people and cause scandal and distress to the townspeople.  Bathsheba is a strong, independent woman, but succumbs to her misled passions, realizing too late the consequences of her rash choices.  I enjoyed the book.  If you've read it, tell me what you think the title represents!!