Pictured: The beautiful farm girl who inspired Thomas Hardy to write Tess of the D'urbervilles | Daily Mail Online comments The TV adaptation of Thomas Hardy's romantic saga Tess of the D'urbervilles is topping the ratings. And now a photograph of the the real-life inspiration for the central character is published for the first time. Augusta Way was 'Tess Durbeyfield' of the novel. In the book, Tess was the eldest daughter in a poor, rural working family - a fresh, pretty country girl with a good heart and a sensitive soul. The middle-aged woman pictured below with her husband, was just 18 when Hardy spotted her milking a cow on a Wessex farm. Historic character: Augusta Way with her husband Arthur Bugler. Years before this picture was taken, Augusta helped inspire Thomas Hardy to pen Tess of the D'urbervilles when she was spotted milking a cow on a Wessex farm He was so attracted to the beautiful teenager that he had her in mind three years later when he wrote his famous novel in 1891. The full title was Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented.

A four-part BBC adaptation starring Gemma Arterton as Tess started last night. In another photo, Augusta is seen with her daughter Gertrude who was later chosen by Hardy to play Tess in a stage show 33 years after he wrote the book. He selected her for the lead role in the production by the Hardy Players because she looked so much like her mother, who had inspired the character. Her younger sister Norrie Woodhall, now 102, who has found the pictures, said Hardy described Gertrude as 'the impersonator of Tess'. Enlarge Happy family: Augusta, second right, at a picnic with her husband Albert and their daughters Norrie, left, and Gertrude. The daughters went on to star for the Thomas Hardy players, with Gertrude taking the lead as Tess in the play of the book because she looked like her mother She said that the literary great wanted her to go on stage in London with him, but Hardy's wife Florence put an end to Gertrude's acting career due to jealousy. She said: 'Thomas Hardy told us that he used to walk past our mother each day when she was milking. 'She was a beautiful woman.

He said himself that the memory must have entered his mind when he was creating the character of Tess. 'So when we did the play years later he cast Gertrude in the role. 'She must have been, for him, a reincarnation of the real Tess in our production. 'Gertrude was very good and wanted to be an actress but Florence put a stop to that.' Hardy first spotted Augusta Way in 1888 when she was just 18. The author, who was 48 at the time, regularly walked past her grandfather's dairy farm on his way to the Kingston Maurward estate near Dorchester, Dorset. Star turn: Actress Gemma Arterton who plays Tess in the BBC 1 adaptation of Tess of the D'urbervilles which started last night. The four-part dramatisation has already attracted millions of viewers Inspired: Author Thomas Hardy who wrote Tess of the D'urbervilles in 1891 Then in 1891 he used his memory of Augusta milking cows when writing Tess.

Norrie, who is a member of the Hardy Players today, said: 'Hardy used to walk to Kingston Maurward as the lady who lived there thought he was clever and gave him great encouragement. 'On his way he would walk past a grey manor house where my mother Augusta and three other families lived. 'My grandfather ran a dairy there and my mother and her sisters would sit outside and milk the cows. 'It was before my mother married when she was about 18 years old. She was very beautiful and must have caught his eye. 'I do not believe Hardy ever spoke to my mother though as he was a very shy person. He would never have made advances.' Augusta married Arthur Bugler soon after and went on to have daughters Eileen, Gertrude, Norrie and a son also called Arthur. Norrie and Gertrude joined the local Hardy Players as teenagers and were directed by Hardy himself. Widow Norrie, whose full name is Augusta Noreen, said: 'My mother gave me her name but I didn't look like her and never grew as tall. 'But Gertrude and my mother were very much alike - Gertrude was beautiful like her.

'When I was a teenager my sister and I were in the Hardy Players and Thomas Hardy would direct us. Survivor: Norrie Bugler pictured in the 1920s and today, aged 102. She lost out on the part of Tess because she never looked like her mother and failed to grow to the same height. Gertrude was picked out by Hardy 'In 1924, we did a production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Thomas Hardy cast Gertrude as Tess. He made it a condition that she play the lead role. 'I was very shy so was given a smaller part of her sister Liza-Lu. 'Gertrude was a great success in the play and Thomas Hardy sat in the audience and enjoyed it no end. 'Hardy would call her 'the impersonator of Tess'.' Norrie said her sister was so good playing Tess that Hardy asked her to continue with the role when it moved to London. But she said his wife Florence forced her to turn down the part. Norrie said: 'Gertrude became the absolute lead - the London people were noticing and coming down.

'Florence never liked the Hardy Players and she was insanely jealous of Gertrude. 'She kept on at her until she wrote a letter of refusal to Thomas Hardy which really she didn't want to do. Thespian dreams: Thomas Hardy players in 1918. Gertrude is centre, Norrie front right 'Shortly after, Florence disbanded the players. She was a very deceitful woman and Hardy died not knowing the truth.' Norrie believes that if it was not for Florence, her's and Gertrude's lives could have been very different. She added: 'Recently I saw a letter in the Dorchester Museum in which Hardy suggested I should go with Gertrude to London. 'He said I should accompany her as London is a very lonely place. 'I also liked acting and believe that if it was not for Florence, my life would have been different.' There is another claimant to the title of the woman who inspired Tess: Agatha Thornycroft, whom Hardy sat with at dinner in 1889. Some believe she was the visual model for the character. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Search eText, Read Online, Study, Discuss.

The Consequences of Uncompromising Virtue When people dear to us experience misfortune, we may offer them sympathy even as we might be thinking their misfortune was partly their own fault. The Tess novel is largely about a wonderful girl we may come to care a lot about who suffers great hardships. We're led to believe these misfortunes were all the fault of others. Hardy's brilliant writing contributes to the understanding that all of Tess' troubles are the result of bad luck, social injustice and a cruel fate. Tess' miseries and how she bears them seem to exalt her to sympathetic readers. But, what if Tess' choices made at least some of her hardships likely? Perhaps the most prominent of all Tess' qualities is her uncompromising virtue, a choice. All choices have consequences, including doing the honorable thing. Tess knew she risked everything in her wedding night confession, but she chose to do it because she preferred to risk her happiness and fulfillment rather than compromise her sense of honor. Her choice not only had devastating results for her, it also made Angel miserable. Most of us regardless of how honorable we imagine ourselves, temper our honesty an ethical behavior somewhat to assure our well-being.

We all tell white lies, partial truths rather than the whole truth and justify it all thinking if there's no real harm done there's no foul. Tess won't compromise her virtuous conduct to her well-being, and the result is her misery. She bears it so stoically it seems she takes her hardships as if they're due. But these hardships don't result from any compromise she's made with virtue. Rather, her hardships result from not compromising her virtue. One moral of this novel might be that to survive satisfactorily in her world (and ours) requires some balance between virtue and personal well-being. Perhaps Tess would have done better to move a little towards Joan's example. Both she and Angel might've been happier for the difference. Posted By Maple at Thu 20 Feb 2014, 7:48 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 2 Replies Do We Condemn Joan? When it comes to Tess' villains, the usual candidates are Alec, Angel and Joan. Alec the obvious melodramatic villain. Angel doesn't intend to be cruel to Tess, but he makes her more miserable than anyone.

And then there's Joan who sets up Alec to ruin Tess partly to bring some money into the Derbyfield household. It's easy to condemn each, but Hardy provides enough character development to invite our empathy. Each villain had his or her reasons. Joan and Tess as young women were much alike in full bodied sexual appeal. Also, both were born into a low social rung with little opportunity to advance. But, with some luck and willingness both could advance using their sexual appeal to bond with men of higher rank. Joan took this route, but Tess wouldn't consider such a scheme. Parents often don't understand their children and in that difference parents tend to assume parents know best. Moreover, parents tend to assume responsibility to bend their child's thinking to their, not out of malice but in genuine conviction it's their responsibility. Joan was convinced Tess had a great opportunity to bond with the wealthy Alec, not just for the sake of the Derbyfield household but for Tess' benefit, also. By Joan's standards the plan blossomed. However, by Tess' thinking, incomprehensible to Joan, life with Alec was intolerable. That Joan set Tess up for her ruin was villainous, but not all villainous acts merit condemnation.

The underlying reason for Joan's villainy, her not understanding Tess and assuming she knew best, is common to all parents. Most of us can't condemn Joan unless we're willing to condemn ourselves. Posted By Maple at Thu 20 Feb 2014, 6:44 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 0 Replies A "Grotesque Prestidigitation" One of Angel's responses to Tess' wedding night confession was that there had been a "grotesque prestidigitation." The implication was that he'd been duped into marriage by Tess’ clever deception. In the fire lit room in a mansion with just the two of them it's initially puzzling that Angel would use the word prestidigitation, which Tess surely didn't know, instead of words expressing the same meaning she would have understood. The answer may be telling. In his phrase "grotesque prestidigitation" he's really not talking to Tess but to himself or some imagined body in his mind.

Being a conformist to his society's standards and now in a situation where he finds his wife, marriage and plans suddenly at odds with society's approval, he's desperate to exonerate himself and remove himself from the "intolerable" situation. It's as though he's saying, "I've been scammed. I’m a victim. Don’t blame me, it’s her fault." From this moment through most of his time in Brazil, he continues in this attitude. After months in Brazil he briefly comes across another Brit to whom Angel discloses his troubles at home. The fellow responds that Angel's made too much of Tess' blemishes and that others in similar situations have accepted, understood and had happy marriages. In a fairly short time Angel reforms his thoughts and returns to Tess as soon as he’s able. While many suggest Angel's mind has been broadened, more likely the stranger simply convinced him society's judgment on Tess wasn't as harsh as he had thought. Angel isn't more broadminded, society is. What the story reveals is that Angel puts society's judgment ahead of his own, if he has any.

What's essential to Angel is society's judgment he's a respectable man, and to keep that reputation he's willing to sacrifice his marriage and even Tess. Whatever Angel does, in his mind society's jury is constantly judging him. Where Tess sets nothing above her love for Angel, Angel sets nothing above conforming to society's judgment. He'll be the same with Liza-Lu and all the others in his life. Posted By Maple at Mon 3 Feb 2014, 10:32 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 1 Reply Who was Tess, really? Hardy may have crafted the Tess character to make a statement about unjust social standards in his time, but he made the character so appealing many readers might feel the novel was really about her. Upon the novel's ending, readers might well wonder who Tess really was, what was her reality, her meaning in her time and her meaning to contemporary readers. On the one hand Tess wants to be known as just Tess, a young woman of the impoverished Wessex laboring class. On the other hand she can seem to be something closer to an earth goddess such as Artemis or Demeter.

Following the heart wrenching final chapter in which she's executed, it might seem to some readers that her death left a spiritual emptiness in her society no one else could fill. Either she was a spiritual essence or she symbolized one. I hope Tess readers will offer their thoughts here. Posted By Maple at Tue 27 Aug 2013, 3:33 AM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 15 Replies Why did Tess kill Alec? Tess' killing of Alec is perhaps the most puzzling part of the novel. Readers can't help but think that if Tess had simply walked away from Alec and could've lived long and happily with Angel. If Tess felt Alec would be a continuing danger to her marriage, she surely knew that killing Alec meant her marriage would only last a few days and her life would end in about a month. Professor James Heffernan, an English literature scholar, thinks he has the answer. He says that Alec had taken possession of Tess' soul and finding the need to break that possession, Tess believed nothing short of killing him would work. Heffernan's answer is put forward here to generate comments.

Do you agree with Heffernan that at the time of her cohabitation with Alec he possessed Tess' soul? If you disagree, do you think Tess' soul was still her own and was it likely to remain so? I have my own opinion to share if we can get some interest on this thread. Posted By Maple at Sun 28 Jul 2013, 5:37 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 7 Replies Chapters 57-8: A new interpretation As we all know, near the novel's end Tess kills Alec, reunites with Angel, the two live in a room at a vacant mansion (Bramshurst Court), and part at Stonehenge. In these few days Tess believes she's experienced the bliss for which she longs. A new interpretation of Chapters 57-8 seems reasonable and is suggested. In this interpretation, after rejecting Angel and killing Alec, Tess remains in her lodging a relatively short time before being captured there by police. The intervening events Hardy described were all a dream state fantasy in which Tess only imagines her happiness.

Supporting this interpretation is that during this imagined episode, Tess seems to have no purpose other than to be with Angel in the moment, avoiding thoughts of the past, the future and exterior world. At Bramshurst she keeps to a darkened bedroom. Hardy is describing an essentially spiritual existence in which there's only she and Angel expressing their mutual love. What Hardy describes is perfect fulfillment without clutter, but as we know realistic fulfillment comes imperfectly and not entirely as we imagine. Tess' happy moments, entirely imagined in my view, can't have a future because she's certain that when Angel objectively takes stock of her he'll despise and reject her again. She's now not only a woman with a blemished premarital past but an adulteress, a virtual prostitute and a murderer. Angel might be more enlightened than earlier, but Tess is justified in thinking Angel can't accept her now. In reality she can't chase after Angel because as much as she longs to be with him, his rejection of her would be unendurable. By Tess relying on her fantasy of fulfillment rather than attempting the impossible real one, a reader's appreciation of her terrible misery is deepened and intensified.

In believing her fantasy was real, Tess reveals to us how emotionally withered and damaged she's become. She reminds us of the fatally wounded pheasants whose agonies she mercifully ended by breaking their necks. Tess gladly anticipates the same from her hangman. Posted By Maple at Mon 17 Jun 2013, 1:29 AM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 2 Replies Liza-Lu: Another Cycle in Misery? Except for the last few lines of the Tess novel, we might summarize the whole story as a description, with some theatrical license, of the terrible life and fate of Wessex laboring women. They live in bare subsistence vulnerable and dependent upon the wealthy who often use them like momentary disposables. Life begins with hope and ends in misery both for themselves and those dearest to them. But, in the last few sentences we have Liza-Lu paired with Angel. A new cycle of womanhood is about to begin either to resemble Tess' miseries or, something happier. Hardy is leading us to wonder if and why Liza-Lu's life might be different than Tess'.

A marriage between Angel and Liza-Lu might be happy firstly because Liza-Lu is much like Tess at 17 but without Tess blemishes imparted by Joan and Alec. Secondly, but equally important, is that Angel has ethically evolved since his appearance at Talbothays. Thirdly if these two marry, it'll be a marriage likely based in friendship rather than passionate delusion. More than describing the awful fate of Wessex working class women, Hardy's pointing us towards something better and offering us reasons for optimism. His key messages might include (1) don't base a marriage decision on passion, (2) don't be obedient to societal standards that're unjust and hypocritical, and (3) find meaning in life beyond your own skin. She might have had an unsuccessful life in terms of personal happiness, but in bringing greater happiness and hope to those dearest to her she lived the good life beyond her own skin, which to Hardy is a measure of the successful life.

Posted By Maple at Sun 12 May 2013, 5:55 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 0 Replies The Philosophical Parameter Some Hardy scholars write that a major parameter of Tess and Hardy's others writings is his philosophical thinking. It's a little hard for us in the twenty-first century to grasp much of this because while philosophy was of much interest a hundred and more years ago, it's not to us now. Obviously, to gather the most complete understanding of Tess requires us to understand Hardy's thinking. Without suggesting I'm any kind of authority in this subject, my understanding is that Hardy and many serious intellectuals on his time believed that as society was evolving, man's character was evolving in step. There was a belief that this evolution progressed through phases that were termed religious, metaphysical and sociological. In the sociological, the highest level, people were more in charge of their own fate.

Hardy believed, as did Leslie Steven, the philosopher who influenced him most, that within the sociological phase a person should strive for values of "loving-kindness" or "altruism." The idea was for man to put less importance on himself and his own happiness and more into attempts at well-meaning toward others. In this aim, the link we now accept between living a good life and happiness is disconnected. A good (i.e. altruistic) life is one that might be unhappy. In this belief, a variant of the better known Utilitarianism, the altruistic man would see himself as part of all other beings and less an independent social unit for pursuit of his individual happiness with relative indifference to others. Regardless of whether we today accept any of this thinking, it does help understand Hardy's characters, particularly his principle characters such as Tess. What may seem unwise behavior in Tess makes more sense if her personal happiness wasn't intended to be her foremost goal. If we can understand her as a person who evolved striving to benefit the lives of those in her world without determined focus on her own happiness, her behavior makes more sense.

In the final phase of the novel, Hardy terms it "fulfillment", which seems strange since she's lost her last chance for happiness and her future. Hardy, however, sees her self-sacrifice and final arrangements for Angle, Liza-Lu and, indirectly, her family as an altruistic fulfillment--a phase in which she's used her life to do all the good for others she possibly can. (Some of us might feel Alec got the short end of her benevolence). Whether or not any of us find this supposed philosophical parameter of the novel credible, it does seem reasonable that understanding the novel requires more an understanding of what Hardy intended, a product of the thinking of his time, and perhaps less emphasis on the thinking of the twenty-first century, from which we modern readers are a product. Hardy, after all, would probably find it as taxing to understand us and our times and we do him and his times. Posted By Maple at Mon 19 Nov 2012, 5:25 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 1 Reply Tess's Choices Some Tess readers say Tess made bad choices. What do you think were the choices she made and which do you think were poor ones?

My view is that the only choice Tess made in the novel was her murder of Alec, which was probably made in the moment but done deliberately and was premeditatedly. All the other choices she made were choices of necessity. Probably her fatal flaw was to love Angel, but in my view who we love isn't a matter of choice. Once in love I'd argue most of us are not responsible for our actions. Boldwood in Far from the Madding Crowd would probably agree. Posted By Maple at Sun 4 Nov 2012, 2:08 AM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 8 Replies Alternative ending for Tess What would have happened if Tess's bad luck had changed at Wintoncester? It seems quite likely she would have received a reprieve and possibly even a parole after a number of years (see here) No doubt Angel would have hired a good lawyer to defend her case. Would he have stuck by her though, or would he have divorced her while she was in prison? He would not know how long she would be in jail, and he had the grounds for divorce. Surely he would not divorce Tess and then marry her sister (especially as marrying a sisten-in-law was illegal).

I read in the library that Thomas Hardy said that Angel would eventually have started taunting Tess for her second fall if she had lived. Posted By kev67 at Fri 29 Jun 2012, 1:08 PM in Tess of the d'Urbervilles || 6 Replies Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - Google Books Tess of the d'Urbervilles 2 Reviews �������� Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy's "bestseller," and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men--Alec d'Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband--Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. ----"Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination," said Irving Howe.

"In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman's life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting." ----Now Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d'Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels. The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century.

The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foun- dation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - Google Books Tess of the d'Urbervilles 1 Review Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy's 'bestseller,' and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him.

Hopelessly torn between two men—Alec d'Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband—Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. 'Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination,' said Irving Howe. 'In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman's life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.' Now Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d'Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels. What people are saying - Write a review Good Quality Book User Review - fairdaloon - Overstock.com A very good read of a very sad tale. If only they had the internet cell phones and could get hold of each other they all wouldnt have suffered so much. Thank Goodness for such great communication now days. And Thank Goodness for Big machines to help us do much of the farm work!

Read full review Selected pages View all » Common terms and phrases afternoon Alec d’Urberville Angel Clare arms asked beauty began better Blackmoor Brazil breakfast can’t cheek church cottage cows Crick cried d’Urberville’s dairy dairyman dark dear didn’t door eyes face farm father father’s feel felt girl gone hand he’s head heard heart hedge horse hour husband I’ve Izz Huett Joan kiss knew lady lane leave light lips live Liza-Lu looked maids Marian Marlott marriage marry miles milk milkmaids mind morning mother mother’s murmured never night o’clock passed perhaps person poor pretty replied returned road round seemed SHELBY FOOTE side soon soul stood sure Talbothays tell Tess Durbeyfield Tess’s there’s thing THOMAS BULFINCH THOMAS HARDY thought told Trantridge turned Vale village voice waited walked waow Wessex what’s wife wish woman women won’t words wouldn’t young About the author (2000) Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in a thatched-roof cottage in upper Bockhampton, Dorset, England, a prophetic birthplace that lay in the center of 'Wessex,' the fictional region of southwest England which would

 serve as the backdrop for his novels.

The eldest son of a prosperous builder and stonemason, Hardy was educated at the village school and apprenticed at the age of sixteen to local architect and church restorer John Hicks. In 1862 he went to London to pursue his architectural career; he also began writing at this time. Hardy returned to Dorset in 1867 to become assistant to John Hicks and wrote his first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, of which only fragments remain. Although George Meredith, who was reader for Chapman & Hall publishers, advised against its publication, he encouraged Hardy to keep writing, preferably a story with a more complicated plot. Over the next several years he produced three more novels: Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) were published anonymously, but A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) bore the author's name. In November 1872, Leslie Stephen, the distinguished critic and editor, wrote to Hardy inviting him to contribute a novel for serialization in the Cornhill Magazine, a prestigious monthly that had published the work of such established writers as Anthony Trollope.

Hardy accepted and in his letter to Stephen added that 'the chief characters would probably be a young woman-farmer, a shepherd, and a sergeant of cavalry.' He wrote Far from the Madding Crowd both in and out of doors at Bockhamptom as if possessed. 'Occasionally without a scrap of paper at the very moment when [I] felt volumes . . . [I] would use large dead leaves, white chips left by the woodcutters, or pieces of stone or slate that came to hand,' Hardy later recalled. Published anonymously in 1874, Far from the Madding Crowd sold out in just over two months and marked the turning point in Hardy's literary career. As Virginia Woolf later noted: 'The subject was right; the method was right; the poet and the countryman, the sensual man, the sombre reflective man, the man of learning, all enlisted to produce a book which, however fashions may chop and change, must hold its place among the great English novels.' The success of Far from the Madding Crowd in 1874 encouraged Hardy to abandon architecture and devote himself entirely to the craft of fiction.

His next novel, The Hand of Ethelberta (1876), also appeared in the Cornhill Magazine but did not repeat the success of its predecessor. In 1874 Hardy married Emma Lavinia Gifford, and the couple soon settled in an idyllic cottage overlooking the Dorset Stour, at Sturminster Newton, where Hardy wrote The Return of the Native (1878). In 1878 he moved to London. Although he became a well-known figure in literary circles and was considered a catch for hostesses, Hardy wrote three disappointing 'minor' novels during his years there: The Trumpet-Major (1880), A Laodicean (1881), and Two on a Tower (1882). This fallow period in his career seemed to lift in 1885 with his return to Dorset to live at Max Gate. Over the next three years he published The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), which many regard as his greatest tragic novel, The Woodlanders (1887), and his first collection of short stories, Wessex Tales (1888).

In 1891 Tess of the d'Urbervilles appeared, and in 1895 Hardy's final novel, Jude the Obscure, came out. The book sent shock waves of indignation rolling across Victorian England. It was denounced as pornography and subjected the author to an avalanche of abuse. Hardy's disgust at the public's reaction led him to announce in 1896 that he would never again write fiction. During the remaining years of his life, Hardy devoted himself to poetry, publishing his first book of verse, Wessex Poems, in 1898. A second collection, Poems of the Past and Present, appeared in 1901. Over the next five years Hardy wrote The Dynasts, an epic drama about the Napoleonic War. In 1912 he made a final revision of his novels for the authoritative Wessex Editions. Hardy's wife died suddenly the same year. In February 1914 he married his longtime secretary, Florence Emily Dugdale. Over the next decade Hardy continued to write poetry and to work on his autobiography, The Early Life of Thomas Hardy, which was supposedly authored by his second wife and published posthumously.

Thomas Hardy died in Dorset on January 11, 1928. His heart was buried in the Wessex countryside in the parish churchyard at Stinsford; his ashes were placed next to those of Charles Dickens in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. Bibliographic information Classics corner: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy | Books | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close In the years after the 1891 publication of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy acknowledged that he had written the book 'with too much feeling to recall it with pleasure'. If writing the book was an affecting experience, reading it proves equally so. The character of Tess, a girl-woman betrayed by the callousness of religion, by social convention and by the men who exploit her, is so lushly drawn, so sympathetically conveyed, that it is almost impossible not to feel crushed by the unfairness of life as she experiences it. Tess starts out as an emblem of innocence, a pretty country girl who delights in dancing on the village green. Yet the world conspires against her.

Seduced by a duplicitous older man, her virtue is destroyed when she bears his child and her future life is shaped by a continual suffering for crimes that are not her own. Cast out by a morally hypocritical society, Tess identifies most strongly with the natural world and it is here that Hardy's textual lyricism comes into its own. His heroine's physical attributes are described with organic metaphors - her arm, covered in curds from the milking, is 'as cold and damp ... as a new-gathered mushroom'. At the height of Tess's love affair with the parson's son, Angel Clare, Hardy describes a summer of 'oozing fatness and warm ferments'. When she is separated from him, Tess is depicted digging out swedes in a rain-drenched, colourless field, working until 'the leaden light diminishes'. These evocative descriptions are underpinned by a gripping story of love, loss and tragedy. According to Hardy's biographer, Claire Tomalin, the book 'glows with the intensity of his imagination'. It is this that remains the key to its lasting power.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles : Thomas Hardy : 9780375756795 Classics Flap copy Etched against the background of a dying rural society, "Tess of the d'Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy's 'bestseller, ' and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men--Alec d'Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband--Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. 'Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination, ' said Irving Howe. 'In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman's life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . .

Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.' Now "Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d'Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels. "From the eBook edition. show more About Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in a thatched-roof cottage in upper Bockhampton, Dorset, England, a prophetic birthplace that lay in the center of 'Wessex, ' the fictional region of southwest England which would serve as the backdrop for his novels.

The eldest son of a prosperous builder and stonemason, Hardy was educated at the village school and apprenticed at the age of sixteen to local architect and church restorer John Hicks. In 1862 he went to London to pursue his architectural career; he also began writing at this time. Hardy returned to Dorset in 1867 to become assistant to John Hicks and wrote his first novel, "The Poor Man and the Lady, " of which only fragments remain. Although George Meredith, who was reader for Chapman & Hall publishers, advised against its publication, he encouraged Hardy to keep writing, preferably a story with a more complicated plot. Over the next several years he produced three more novels: "Desperate Remedies" (1871) and "Under the Greenwood Tree" (1872) were published anonymously, but "A Pair of Blue Eyes" (1873) bore the author's name. In November 1872, Leslie Stephen, the distinguished critic and editor, wrote to Hardy inviting him to contribute a novel for serialization in the Cornhill Magazine, a prestigious monthly that had published the work of such established writers as Anthony Trollope.

Hardy accepted and in his letter to Stephen added that 'the chief characters would probably be a young woman-farmer, a shepherd, and a sergeant of cavalry.' He wrote "Far from the Madding Crowd" both in and out of doors at Bockhamptom as if possessed. 'Occasionally without a scrap of paper at the very moment when [I] felt volumes . . . [I] would use large dead leaves, white chips left by the woodcutters, or pieces of stone or slate that came to hand, ' Hardy later recalled. Published anonymously in 1874, "Far from the Madding Crowd" sold out in just over two months and marked the turning point in Hardy's literary career. As Virginia Woolf later noted: 'The subject was right; the method was right; the poet and the countryman, the sensual man, the sombre reflective man, the man of learning, all enlisted to produce a book which, however fashions may chop and change, must hold its place among the great English novels.' The success of "Far from the Madding Crowd" in 1874 encouraged Hardy to abandon architecture and devote himself entirely to the craft of fiction.

His next novel, "The Hand of Ethelberta" (1876), also appeared in the Cornhill Magazine but did not repeat the success of its predecessor. In 1874 Hardy married Emma Lavinia Gifford, and the couple soon settled in an idyllic cottage overlooking the Dorset Stour, at Sturminster Newton, where Hardy wrote "The Return of the Native" (1878). In 1878 he moved to London. Although he became a well-known figure in literary circles and was considered a catch for hostesses, Hardy wrote three disappointing 'minor' novels during his years there: "The Trumpet-Major" (1880), "A Laodicean" (1881), and "Two on a Tower" (1882). This fallow period in his career seemed to lift in 1885 with his return to Dorset to live at Max Gate.

Over the next three years he published "The Mayor of Casterbridge" (1886), which many regard as his greatest tragic novel, "The Woodlanders" (1887), and his first collection of short stories, "Wessex Tales" (1888). In 1891 "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" appeared, and in 1895 Hardy's final novel, "Jude the Obscure, " came out. The book sent shock waves of indignation rolling across Victorian England. It was denounced as pornography and subjected the author to an avalanche of abuse. Hardy's disgust at the public's reaction led him to announce in 1896 that he would never again write fiction. During the remaining years of his life, Hardy devoted himself to poetry, publishing his first book of verse, "Wessex Poems, " in 1898. A second collection, Poems of the Past and Present, appeared in 1901. Over the next five years Hardy wrote "The Dynasts, " an epic drama about the Napoleonic War.

In 1912 he made a final revision of his novels for the authoritative "Wessex Editions." Hardy's wife died suddenly the same year. In February 1914 he married his longtime secretary, Florence Emily Dugdale. Over the next decade Hardy continued to write poetry and to work on his autobiography, The Early Life of Thomas Hardy, which was supposedly authored by his second wife and published posthumously. Thomas Hardy died in Dorset on January 11, 1928. His heart was buried in the Wessex countryside in the parish churchyard at Stinsford; his ashes were placed next to those of Charles Dickens in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. show more Follow us SparkNotes: Tess of the d’Urbervilles: Character List Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Tess Durbeyfield - The novel’s protagonist. Tess is a beautiful, loyal young woman living with her impoverished family in the village of Marlott. Tess has a keen sense of responsibility and is committed to doing the best she can for her family, although her inexperience and lack of wise parenting leave her extremely vulnerable.

Her life is complicated when her father discovers a link to the noble line of the d’Urbervilles, and, as a result, Tess is sent to work at the d’Urberville mansion. Unfortunately, her ideals cannot prevent her from sliding further and further into misfortune after she becomes pregnant by Alec d’Urberville. The terrible irony is that Tess and her family are not really related to this branch of the d’Urbervilles at all: Alec’s father, a merchant named Simon Stokes, simply assumed the name after he retired. Read an in-depth analysis of Tess Durbeyfield. Angel Clare - An intelligent young man who has decided to become a farmer to preserve his intellectual freedom from the pressures of city life. Angel’s father and his two brothers are respected clergymen, but Angel’s religious doubts have kept him from joining the ministry. He meets Tess when she is a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy and quickly falls in love with her. Read an in-depth analysis of Angel Clare. Alec d’Urberville - The handsome, amoral son of a wealthy merchant named Simon Stokes.

Alec is not really a d’Urberville—his father simply took on the name of the ancient noble family after he built his mansion and retired. Alec is a manipulative, sinister young man who does everything he can to seduce the inexperienced Tess when she comes to work for his family. When he finally has his way with her, out in the woods, he subsequently tries to help her but is unable to make her love him. Read an in-depth analysis of Alec d’Urberville. Mr. John Durbeyfield - Tess’s father, a lazy peddler in Marlott. John is naturally quick, but he hates work. When he learns that he descends from the noble line of the d’Urbervilles, he is quick to make an attempt to profit from the connection. Mrs. Joan Durbeyfield - Tess’s mother. Joan has a strong sense of propriety and very particular hopes for Tess’s life. She is continually disappointed and hurt by the way in which her daughter’s life actually proceeds. But she is also somewhat simpleminded and naturally forgiving, and she is unable to remain angry with Tess—particularly once Tess becomes her primary means of support. Mrs.

d’Urberville - Alec’s mother, and the widow of Simon Stokes. Mrs. d’Urberville is blind and often ill. She cares deeply for her animals, but not for her maid Elizabeth, her son Alec, nor Tess when she comes to work for her. In fact, she never sees Tess as anything more than an impoverished girl. Marian, Izz Huett, and Retty Priddle - Milkmaids whom Tess befriends at the Talbothays Dairy. Marian, Izz, and Retty remain close to Tess throughout the rest of her life. They are all in love with Angel and are devastated when he chooses Tess over them: Marian turns to drink, Retty attempts suicide, and Izz nearly runs off to Brazil with Angel when he leaves Tess. Nevertheless, they remain helpful to Tess. Marian helps her find a job at a farm called Flintcomb-Ash, and Marian and Izz write Angel a plaintive letter encouraging him to give Tess another chance. Reverend Clare - Angel’s father, a somewhat intractable but principled clergyman in the town of Emminster. Mr. Clare considers it his duty to convert the populace.

One of his most difficult cases proves to be none other than Alec d’Urberville. Mrs. Clare - Angel’s mother, a loving but snobbish woman who places great stock in social class. Mrs. Clare wants Angel to marry a suitable woman, meaning a woman with the proper social, financial, and religious background. Mrs. Clare initially looks down on Tess as a “simple” and impoverished girl, but later grows to appreciate her. Reverend Felix Clare - Angel’s brother, a village curate. Reverend Cuthbert - Clare Angel’s brother, a classical scholar and dean at Cambridge. Cuthbert, who can concentrate only on university matters, marries Mercy Chant. Eliza Louisa Durbeyfield - Tess’s younger sister. Tess believes Liza-Lu has all of Tess’s own good qualities and none of her bad ones, and she encourages Angel to look after and even marry Liza-Lu after Tess dies. Sorrow - Tess’s son with Alec d’Urberville. Sorrow dies in his early infancy, after Tess christens him herself. She later buries him herself as well, and decorates his grave.

Mercy Chant - The daughter of a friend of the Reverend Clare. Mr. Clare hopes Angel will marry Mercy, but after Angel marries Tess, Mercy becomes engaged to his brother Cuthbert instead. More Help SparkNotes: Tess of the d’Urbervilles: Plot Overview Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy Context Character List The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunned to learn that he is the descendent of an ancient noble family, the d’Urbervilles. Meanwhile, Tess, his eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance, where Tess briefly exchanges glances with a young man. Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the d’Urberville mansion, where they hope Mrs. d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune. In reality, Mrs. d’Urberville is no relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon Stokes, simply changed his name to d’Urberville after he retired. But Tess does not know this fact, and when the lascivious Alec d’Urberville, Mrs.

d’Urberville’s son, procures Tess a job tending fowls on the d’Urberville estate, Tess has no choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the family’s horse, its only means of income. Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alec’s attempts to seduce her. Finally, Alec takes advantage of her in the woods one night after a fair. Tess knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to Alec’s child, whom she christens Sorrow. Sorrow dies soon after he is born, and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding to seek work elsewhere. She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy. At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She befriends three of her fellow milkmaids—Izz, Retty, and Marian—and meets a man named Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day dance at the beginning of the novel. Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They grow closer throughout Tess’s time at Talbothays, and she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage.

Still, she is troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past. She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his door, but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees it. After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells Angel about her history with Alec. Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot forgive Tess. He gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil, where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells Tess he will try to accept her past but warns her not to try to join him until he comes for her. Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm. She tries to visit Angel’s family but overhears his brothers discussing Angel’s poor marriage, so she leaves. She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is Alec d’Urberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angel’s father, the Reverend Clare. Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again.

Soon after, however, he again begs Tess to marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways. Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is forced to return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her father unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their home, Alec offers help. But Tess refuses to accept, knowing he only wants to obligate her to him again. At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazil, desperate to find her. Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village called Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called The Herons, where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back. Tess tells him he has come too late. She was unable to resist and went back to Alec d’Urberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the point of madness, Tess goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death. When the landlady finds Alec’s body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to find Angel.

Angel agrees to help Tess, though he cannot quite believe that she has actually murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel farther. When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning breaks shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and sent to jail. Angel and Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison, signaling Tess’s execution. More Help

Question: Who wrote the novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’?
Answer: Thomas Hardy