Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3201 in Books
• Published on: 1994-01-13
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Synopsis
When Tess D'urbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her 'cousin' Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future. With its sensitive depiction of the wronged Tess and powerful criticism of social convention, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" is one of the most moving and poetic of Hardy's novels.

Customer Reviews

sad and tragic
I really like Hardy's novels for all the themes they deal with. This book tells of Tess, a womanwho is treated badly by society and cant find a way out of her destiny. Hardy uses lots of symbolism in the novel, i.e weather etc.

A truly pure woman
In this book, Hardy tells us of the tragic story of Tess, a self-sacrificing woman who seemingly cannot escape her destiny or find happiness. Packed with emotion and landscape symbolism, in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" one can't help feeling strong sympathy for her character and the unfair course of events in her life, which leads me to affirm that she is indeed "a pure woman", as the subtitle of the novel declared. Although to some the plot of this novel may seem unnecessarily tragic, this book is simply unputdownable and, once in a while, it is a joy -to me, at least- to read a story that touches one's heart so deeply.

Simply Wonderful
This has to be one of the best books I've ever read. A tragic tale of Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman of pure spirit wronged by society and forced to live in shame, even though she was the victim of a crime (rape). The story ebbed and flowed like a long running soap opera until its tragic end. The author's use of prose was lyrical and magical. I wished I had marked my favorites to quote now. Maybe next time I read this.

Highly highly recommended.