Martin Seymour-Smith

"Michael Henchard has risen to become a prosperous merchant and mayor of Casterbridge, but he harbors a shameful secret. In his youth, while in a drunken rage, the now-respectable Henchard auctioned off his wife and infant daughter to a passing sailor. When his family unexpectedly returns, he tries to make amends, thus setting off a chain of events that will have grave consequences"--Back cover.