Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Paperback

by Thomas Hardy (Author)

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'My life looks as if it had been wasted for want of chances! When I see what you know, what you have read, and seen, and thought, I feel what a nothing I am!'

Challenging the hypocrisy and social conventions of the rural Victorian world, Tess of the D'Urbervilles follows the story of Tess Durbeyfield as she attempts to escape the poverty of her background, seeking wealth by claiming connection with the aristocratic D'Urberville family. It is through Tess's relationships with two very different men that Hardy tells the story of his tragic heroine, and exposes the double standards of the world that she inhabits with searing pathos and heart-rending sentiment.

Back Jacket

'Don't think of what's past!' said she. 'I am not going to think outside of now. Why should we! Who knows what tomorrow has in store?'

Excited by her new-found freedom, but blind to the dangers that come with youth and beauty, dairymaid Tess Durbeyfield ventures into the outside world, determined to escape the trappings of rural poverty. Rumour has it her family are related to the wealthy D'Urbervilles, and Tess intends to claim this connection. But her entanglement with Alec D'Urberville sparks a chain of events that will haunt Tess for years, tarnishing her hopes of a better life and the fleeting happiness found with her true love, Angel Clare.

Challenging the hypocrisy and rigid conventions of Victorian society, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a powerful critique of class and social morality, told with searing pathos and heart-rending sentiment.

Author Biography

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was one of the most significant novelists and poets of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His novels include 'Far from the Madding Crowd', 'The Mayor of Casterbridge', 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure'.