Book:

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

I read this book in high school for an English class and decided that it was my favorite novel of all time. I read it again last month and decided that it still is. It's about a man's struggle to keep his friends and good name while his bad temper and many misunderstandings pull him further down from his gain in society, while those around him steadily rise above him due to their own honest (and dishonest) efforts. As dramatic as the book is with all its plots and subplots, I picked up that Hardy had a couple significant issues he was trying to address. The feminist attitude was just surfacing in the Western Hemisphere when Hardy wrote the book; Hardy wanted to indiscreetly give his approval of women's rights through the women characters of his books. Actually, the "hero" of this book was actually a poor girl who had schooled herself to become a learned woman in a society where that was reserved only for the upper class.

Oh, I could go on... but I can't and I'll post why tomorrow.