The author explores the genesis, publication and reception of Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, alongside the historical and social context of the plot. He also looks at the central themes (identity and non-identity, nature, death, superstition) of the work, and gives an analysis of the tragic qualities of the text, asking whether it is possible to produce such tragic literature within a fundamentally secular society. Finally, Ebbatson examines the gender issues raised by the narrator, and the representation of the characters Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta.