Under the Greenwood Tree, by Thomas Hardy

I read this book after <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> and in some ways it is a simpler, more lighthearted version of the later novel. Like <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i>, the heroine, a young schoolmistress and organist named Fancy Day has three suitors, very different from one another, and she must choose among them.  The passions depicted and the events surrounding her choice are much more down to earth and not nearly so dramatic as those of Bathsheba Everdene, so the story has a more serene and relaxing atmosphere. Interwoven with the marriage is that of the pastor's decision to replace the unreliable crew of church musicians with Fancy, who can play the organ, and their unhappiness and speculations about the reasons behind this, the pastor being one of Fancy's suitors.

I have to say I enjoyed <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> more than this book, but it was a pleasant and quick read.