Far from the Madding Crowd she screams. At this, Boldwood shoots Troy dead and tries unsuccessfully to turn the gun on himself. Although Boldwood is convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged, his friends petition the Home Secretary for mercy, claiming insanity. This is granted, and Boldwood's sentence is commuted to "confinement during Her Majesty's pleasure". Bathsheba, profoundly chastened by guilt and grief, buries her husband in the same grave as Fanny Robin and her child and adds a suitable inscription. Throughout her tribulations, Bathsheba comes to rely increasingly on her oldest and, as she admits to herself, only real friend, Gabriel. When he
A Face in the Crowd (novella) A Face in the Crowd (novella) A Face in the Crowd is a novella by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan, originally published as an e-book on August 21, 2012, as well as an audiobook, read by Craig Wasson. Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan had previously collaborated in 2004 on a non-fiction book "Faithful", chronicling the 2004 Boston Red Sox season. In "Faithful", during a discussion about watching baseball on television, King posits an idea for a story entitled "Spectators", which later evolved into "A Face in the Crowd": Later, when speaking and reading an excerpt from his work in progress