Uriah the Hittite they fought side-by-side with him. Uriah's closeness to David is illustrated by how closely he lived to the palace, and his position as one of the mighty men at the front battle lines allowed David to formulate and carry out his plot. According to Second Samuel, King David was tempted upon seeing Bathsheba bathe in her courtyard from the roof of his palace. He had her brought to his chambers and had sex with her, resulting in a pregnancy. Informed that her husband was Uriah, David summoned Uriah from battle to meet him, suggesting that he go home and "wash
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