The Mayor of of Casterbridge

The Mayor of of Casterbridge By Thomas Hardy Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter by accident in an auction after a few too many pints. A sailor buys them for five guineas, but 21-year-old Henchard regrets his decision in the morning. Unable to find them, he swears he will not drink alcohol for his next 21 years. Two decades later, the sailor is dead and Henchard's wife Susan and daughter Elizabeth-Jane arrive in Casterbridge and learn that Henchard is the mayor. The parents meet and decide that rather than allow Elizabeth-Jane to learn of the disgrace, Henchard will court and remarry Susan as though they had just met.