Which Thomas Hardy novel begins with the protagonist selling his wife and daughter to a sailor?

• A. Far from the Madding Crowd
• B. The Mayor of Casterbridge
• C. Tess of the d'Urbervilles
• D. Jude the Obscure

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is recognizing a distinctive opening that immediately reveals a character’s impulsive nature and the heavy consequences that follow. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, the story opens with Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, selling his wife Susan and their baby daughter to a sailor. That single act sets in motion the entire arc of guilt, pride, social judgment, and the long path toward possible redemption that runs through the novel. It’s a unique starting moment for Hardy and anchors the book’s themes from the very first pages. None of the other listed Hardy novels begins with such an event, so this work is the clear fit for the description.