Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film) and rural life to be "splendid". His strongest criticism is that the film missed the point of the small society of rural life: Thomas Hardy's novel told of a 19th century rural England in which class distinctions and unyielding social codes surrounded his characters. They were far from the madding crowd whether they liked it or not, and got tangled in each other's problems because there was nowhere else to turn. It's not simply that Bathsheba (Julie Christie) was courted by the three men in her life, but that she was courted by ALL three men in her life. The
Far from the Madding Crowd 50; Hardy extended the reference for the 1895 edition. The village of Puddletown, near Dorchester, is the inspiration for the novel's Weatherbury. Dorchester, in turn, inspired Hardy's Casterbridge. In "The Mayor of Casterbridge", Hardy briefly mentions two characters from "Far from the Madding Crowd" – Farmer Everdene and Farmer Boldwood, both in happier days. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 48 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. In 2007, the book finished 10th on the "Guardian"'s list of greatest love stories of all time. The novel was retold by author F.J. Campbell in "The Islanders", set in