The Mayor of Casterbridge- Thomas Hardy (BBC)

Drunk on rum at a country fair, Henchard sells his wife and infant daughter to a sailor for five guineas. Unable to find them and overcome with guilt and remorse he vows to be teetotal for 21 years.
Many years later his wife seeks him out in Casterbridge where he has gained both wealth and the well respected position of Mayor. His family restored to him, Henchard's happiness should be complete, but beneath the surface still smoulders the same impestousness and temper which combine with fate to bring about his degredation and ruin.