Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891)

by Thomas Hardy

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
11,823	None	221	(3.82)	446

Add to your library

Add to wishlist

all members

▾Members

Recently added by	CarlieJ, toedebw, private library, AprilAnn0814, wkwheel315, kakadoo202, Jeff.Conrad
Legacy Libraries	James Joyce, Lewis Carroll, Jack Layton, William Gaddis, Hannah Arendt, Sylvia Plath, Robert Ranke Graves , Ralph Ellison, George Orwell, Lawrence Durrell — 3 more, Carl Sandburg, T. E. Lawrence, Walker Percy

numbers

show all

▾Tags

1001 (78) 1001 books (81) 19th century (409) 19th century literature (53) British (237) British literature (256) classic (603) classic fiction (72) Classic Literature (79) classics (548) ebook (48) England (207) English (101) English literature (248) fiction (1,638) Hardy (92) literature (330) love (48) novel (314) own (70) rape (51) read (130) romance (72) Thomas Hardy (65) to-read (188) tragedy (118) unread (112) Victorian (202) Wessex (59) women (49)

▾Lists

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (103)

The Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (31)

Recommended Brit Lit (15)

» 20 more

▾LibraryThing recommendations

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1957)
Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871)
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy (1935)
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (1961)
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1961)

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1900)
Adam Bede by George Eliot (1947)
Hard Times by Charles Dickens (1955)
Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence (1948)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (1980)

see more recommendations for this work

refresh

▾Member recommendations

50
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (alaudacorax)
alaudacorax: At the moment, I think this is the finest of Hardy's novels - if you've read and liked any of the others I'm sure you'll like this. If you've been turned-off by the grimness of some of his others - Tess ..., for instance - you might well find this more palatable.… (more)
51
Middlemarch, Volume I by George Eliot (readerbabe1984)
40
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (roby72)
30
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (Booksloth)
30
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (roby72)
10
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (roby72)
21
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Johanna11)
Johanna11: Both books write about people with expectations for their future, both are very well written at the end of the nineteenth century.
11
The Quarry Wood by Nan Shepherd (edwinbcn)
edwinbcn: Written by a woman, "The Quarry Wood" explores the awakening sexuality and awareness of the young Martha. More outspoken than Thomas Hardy, but not yet as free as D.H. Lawrence.
01
Adam Bede by George Eliot (Heather39)
Heather39: Both books tell the story of a young, working class woman who enters into a relationship with a gentleman, eventually to her downfall.
02
Villette by Charlotte Brontë (allenmichie)
03
Muriel's Wedding [film] by P. J. Hogan (lucyknows)
lucyknows: Muriel's Wedding could be paired with Tess of the D'Urbervilles as well as several other novels, such as, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and even with Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 446 mentions

▾Member reviews

English (138) French (3) Italian (1) German (1) Dutch (1) All languages (144)

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 138 (next | show all)

Possibly the most depressing book I have ever read. Tragic. (

)

JordanCorinne | Apr 2, 2014 |

Absolutely heartbreaking and so beautifully written I wanted to cry. (

)

DonnaB317 | Mar 7, 2014 |

So depressing that I never quite finished. I skipped to the last few pages about halfway through the book. (

)

ClosetWryter | Mar 3, 2014 |

read if you enjoy schadenfreude (

)

Achromatic | Feb 16, 2014 |

This re-reading has reminded me why I've avoided Tess for about a decade: I find it absolutely maddening! Or, more to the point, I find her absolutely maddening.

rmaitzen | Feb 7, 2014 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 138 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

1 review

add a review

thingScore 100

Daring in its treatment of conventional ideas, pathetic in its sadness, and profoundly stirring by its tragic power. The very title, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman", is a challenge to convention.

added by Shortride | editThe Times

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (111 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Thomas Hardy	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Alvarez, A.	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Cosham, Ralph	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Firth, Peter	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Irwin, Michael	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Skilton, David	Editor	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Thorne, Stephen	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Thomas Hardy: Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Under the Greenwood Tree, The Well-Beloved (Great Classic Library) by Thomas Hardy

Far from the madding crowd / The Mayor of Casterbridge / Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

ROMANZI by Thomas Hardy

Far from the Madding Crowd / The Mayor of Casterbridge / Tess of the d'Urbervilles / Wessex Tales / The Woodlanders (Omnibus) by Thomas Hardy

Is retold in

Tess of the D'Urbervilles [adapted - Oxford Bookworms] by Clare West

Has the adaptation

Tess of the d'Urbervilles (2008) by David Blair

Tess of the D'Urbervilles [DVD] by Sarah Wilson

Has as a student's study guide

CliffsNotes on Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Lorraine M. Force

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (Sparknotes) by Brian Phillips

Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Monarch Notes) by Robert William Ackerman

Thomas Hardy's Tess Of The D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

(show 4 more)

York Notes Advanced on "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy (York Notes Advanced) by Karen Sayer

Hardy -- Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Coles Publishing Company.,

"Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy (Palgrave Master Guides) by James Gibson

York Notes Advanced: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Series (with order)

Canonical title

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Original title

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1998 ∙ IMDb)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008 ∙ IMDb)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1913 ∙ IMDb)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924 ∙ IMDb)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1952 ∙ IMDb)

(show all 6 items)

Awards and honors

BBC's Big Read (Best loved novel, 2003, No 26)

Guardian 1000 (Love)

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010 Edition)

The Telegraph's 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (2008)

Daniel S. Burt's Novel 100 (34)

(show all 12 items)

Epigraph

'...Poor wounded name! My bosom as a bed | Shall lodge thee.', - W. Shakespeare [Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 1, Scene 2, 111/12] & should read: 'Poor wounded name: My bosom as a bed | Shall lodge thee...', [Riverside Shakespeare (1997)].

Dedication

First words

On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

Wordsworth Classics

Penguin Classics

Everyman's Library New Series (33)

Modern Library (72)

Modern Library Classics

(show all 18 items)

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (4)

Aldebaran in fiction

Barnes & Noble Classics Collection

Sirius in fiction

World's Best Reading

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

In order to step out of family poverty, Tess attempts to find her ancient relations, the d'Urbervilles. Unfortunately, she is taken advantage of by a man which causes her even more strife throughout the rest of her life. She is forced into a moral delimma when she truly falls in love with another man due to her previous circumstances. More conflicted than ever, Tess is able to eventually become a strong woman who makes choices for herself instead of what the society tells her is right. This book was some what a hard book for me to get through because some parts of it seem very dry, but overall the story line is interesting.

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0141439599, Paperback)

The chance discovery by a young peasant woman that she is a descendant of the noble family of d'Urbervilles is to change the course of her life. Tess Durbeyfield leaves home on the first of her fateful journeys, and meets the ruthless Alec d'Urberville. Thomas Hardy's impassioned story tells of hope and disappointment, rejection and enduring love.

(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:43:18 -0400)

(see all 9 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

"When Tess Durbeyfield 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. Based on the three-volume first edition that shocked readers when first published in 1891, this edition includes as appendices: Hardy's Prefaces, the Landscapes of Tess, episodes originally censored from the Graphic periodical version and a selection of the Graphic illustrations."--Back cover.… (more)

» see all 33 descriptions