Tess Durbeyfield is the daughter of a poor and dissipated villager who learns that she may be descended from the ancient family of d’Urberville; her search for respectability sends her fortunes fluctuating wildly, and the story assumes the proportions of a Greek tragedy. Set in Hardy’s Wessex, Tess is a moving novel of hypocrisy and double standards, exploring its heroine’s relationships with two very different men and her struggle against the social mores of the rural Victorian world she inhabits. Its challenging sub-title, A Pure Woman, infuriated critics on first publication in 1891 and saw the novel condemned as immoral and pessimistic. In addressing the double standards of the age, Hardy’s masterly evocation of a world we have lost offers one of the most compelling stories in the canon of English literature, its appeal today defying the judgement of his contemporary critics. Introduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury.
ISBN 13: 9781853260056
Author: Thomas Hardy
