Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) is a novel by Thomas Hardy. Tess Durbeyfield, a peasant girl from Wessex, is seduced by Alec d'Urberville, rejected by her husband Angel Clare when she confesses her past, and driven to a desperate act.
The story
When her father learns that the family descends from the noble d'Urbervilles, Tess is sent to claim kinship with a rich family of that name. Its son, Alec, takes advantage of her; her baby dies.
Working as a dairymaid, she falls in love with Angel Clare, a clergyman's son. On their wedding night she tells him her past, and he abandons her. Years later, Alec reappears, with tragic consequences.
A pure woman
Hardy subtitled the novel A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, a provocative claim that defied Victorian morality.
The novel criticises the double standard that condemned women for what was forgiven in men.
Wessex
The landscapes of Hardy's imaginary Wessex, based on Dorset and the surrounding counties, reflect Tess's fortunes, from the fertile valley of the dairies to the stony fields of Flintcomb-Ash.
The novel ends with Tess's arrest at Stonehenge at dawn, one of the most famous scenes in English fiction.
Anecdotes
Censored for a magazine
For its serial publication in The Graphic in 1891, Hardy had to cut or alter scenes; at one point Angel had to carry the milkmaids across a flooded lane in a wheelbarrow rather than in his arms.
Polanski's Tess
Roman Polanski's 1979 film Tess, with Nastassja Kinski, won three Oscars.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Tess?
A peasant girl from Wessex, the heroine of Hardy's novel.
What does the subtitle mean?
A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented: Hardy defends Tess against Victorian judgment.
Where does the novel end?
At Stonehenge, before Tess's arrest.