num_pages: 414
description: In Tess, victimized by lust, poverty, and hypocrisy, Thomas Hardy created no standard Victorian heroine, but a woman whose intense vitality flares unforgettably against the bleak background of a dying rural society. Shaped by an acute sense of social injustice and by a vision of human fate cosmic in scope, her story is a singular blending of harsh realism and indelibly poignant beauty. The novel shocked its Victorian audience with its honesty; it remains a triumph of literary art and a timeless commentary on the human condition.
language: English
title: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
titlecomplete: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
characters: Angel Clare, Tess Durbeyfield, Alec D'Urberville
genres: Romance, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Literature, 19th Century, Classics, Novels, Fiction, Literature, Victorian
ratings_count: 276859
places: Dorset, England, United Kingdom
publisher: Bantam Books