Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) is the first novel set in Hardy's fictional county of Wessex in rural southwest England. It deals with the themes of love, honor and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationships—especially with her lonely neighbor William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. The novel was listed at number 48 on the BBC's survey The Big Read in 2003. The book finished 10th on the Guardian's list of greatest love stories of all time in 2007. It has been dramatized several times, notably in an Oscar-nominated 1967 film directed by John Schlesinger.
