
Though she ultimately makes her choice, Bathsheba's marriage is instantly doomed, setting in motion a dramatic chain of events in this turbulent 19th-century tale of passion and destruction. Despite being in love with another woman himself, Troy sees a challenge in Bathsheba and sets out to win her. Both men forsake their hearts, however, upon the arrival of the dashing, womanizing soldier Frank Troy (Jonathan Firth). When Gabriel Oak first sees her, she is objecting to paying a toll.

Bathsheba Everdene, like many of Hardy s female protagonists, is not a passive woman. Boldwood (Nigel Terry), unleashing a passionate obsession that burns deep within the reserved Boldwood. The story of Far from the Madding Crowd concerns issues of womens independence, which is both a strength of the novel and a source of some of its early criticism.

Still in love, Gabriel can only stand by and watch as Bathsheba mischievously flirts with her neighbor, Mr.

Uncertain of her future but unwilling to sacrifice her freedom, young Bathsheba rejects the proposal of dependable Gabriel Oak (Nathaniel Parker, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries), only to become his employer when a cruel twist of fate destroys the loyal shepherd's prospects. Paloma Baeza stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a beautiful and proud woman with a fiercely independent spirit, in this lush adaptation of Thomas Hardy's turbulent 19th-century tale of passion and destruction, Far from the Madding Crowd.
