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Product Description
Richard Nemesvari, St. Francis Xavier University
"This edition of Hardy's most famous novel provides a forceful introduction and excellent supporting material."
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
'Thus the thing began. Had she perceived this meeting's import she might have asked why she was doomed to be seen and coveted that day by the wrong man, and not by some other man, the right and desired one in all respects...' Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
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. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Tess" really deserves it's place as a classic - Hardy writes of her as if she was real to him.
Her whole story is all the sadder for being so believable, the description of everyday life, living conditions, attitudes, etc.
He defies the morality of the time with his empathy with her - whereas today we would nearly all agree with him, back then he was heavily criticised for his sympathetic portrayal.
I found it hard to come to terms with how much I enjoyed this book - despite the fact that it was the first of his I had read, and I wasn't expecting the ending - it was a bit like losing someone that I knew....
Her whole story is all the sadder for being so believable, the description of everyday life, living conditions, attitudes, etc.
He defies the morality of the time with his empathy with her - whereas today we would nearly all agree with him, back then he was heavily criticised for his sympathetic portrayal.
I found it hard to come to terms with how much I enjoyed this book - despite the fact that it was the first of his I had read, and I wasn't expecting the ending - it was a bit like losing someone that I knew....
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have to give Tess five stars because no book I have read before or since has moved me to such a degree. Thirty years later I still have my original copy, entirely disintegrated, the glue dissolved, in part I'm sure by my hot adolescent tears. It simply tore me apart - I remember in particular strugggling to finish Tess's letter from Flintcomb-Ash through eyes fogged with grief and that after finishing the book I was well-nigh inconsolable for days. I spent the following summer touring the Dorset locations on my bicycle as a kind of pilgrimage, and remember those cruel hills pretty well too.
But having said that, I was sixteen at the time and emotionally wide open. Reading it five years later, I could hardly get past the clumsiness and infelicities in the writing and the crude manipulation and melodrama of the plot. How could I have fallen for this? Reading it again another ten years further on I better understood the theatricality of it - it should be read in some ways like the old ballads with which Hardy was very familiar, with their highly exaggerated representations of good and evil - but the magic had gone.
Maybe the key is that Tess is a book written by an emotional adolescent - Hardy was a writer who arguably never really grew up, and his own relationships seem to bear this out - which speaks most forcefully to other adolescents. The melodrama and the suffering, the torment and the injustice which Tess is put through really are meat and drink to the average sensitive sixteen year old, but seem perhaps a bit foolish in retrospect.
But this isn't really a criticism. 'Tess' is by far the greatest of Hardy's novels and the high point of his career as a novelist (Jude the Obscure would tip over into self parody) and is written with a rare passion - Hardy said that he loved Tess and, although he perhaps had a funny way of showing it, his depth of feeling for his creation really comes through. Like 'The Catcher in the Rye', if you're in the right demographic - a sixteen year old or someone who still feels like one - you're going to love it. If not, you may wonder what all the fuss is about and should perhaps move straight on to Dickens.
But having said that, I was sixteen at the time and emotionally wide open. Reading it five years later, I could hardly get past the clumsiness and infelicities in the writing and the crude manipulation and melodrama of the plot. How could I have fallen for this? Reading it again another ten years further on I better understood the theatricality of it - it should be read in some ways like the old ballads with which Hardy was very familiar, with their highly exaggerated representations of good and evil - but the magic had gone.
Maybe the key is that Tess is a book written by an emotional adolescent - Hardy was a writer who arguably never really grew up, and his own relationships seem to bear this out - which speaks most forcefully to other adolescents. The melodrama and the suffering, the torment and the injustice which Tess is put through really are meat and drink to the average sensitive sixteen year old, but seem perhaps a bit foolish in retrospect.
But this isn't really a criticism. 'Tess' is by far the greatest of Hardy's novels and the high point of his career as a novelist (Jude the Obscure would tip over into self parody) and is written with a rare passion - Hardy said that he loved Tess and, although he perhaps had a funny way of showing it, his depth of feeling for his creation really comes through. Like 'The Catcher in the Rye', if you're in the right demographic - a sixteen year old or someone who still feels like one - you're going to love it. If not, you may wonder what all the fuss is about and should perhaps move straight on to Dickens.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Slow starter - seemed simplistic story at start. However soon got to the point where I could not put the kindle down and wanted to know next turn of Tess`s story. Love the language of the time and being taken back to a more innocent time. Would never guessed have the ending!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Classic
How come I've never read this? Glad I did, interesting if not exactly a laugh a minute, but beautifully written despite the very irritating protagonists - yes all of them but... Read more
Published 5 days ago by white rose
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
I read the paper version of this many years ago. I have not yet finished reading it on my Kindle but am enjoying it!
Published 17 days ago by Mr. Frank Greenslade
Didn't quite live up to my expectations
I was disappointed. I was very disappointed. Lo, I lay down on the carpet and cried, yeah, I wailed. I took a pillow unto myself and let out a moan that fair shook the walls. Read more
Published 2 months ago by wendy jones
Gripping
Couldn't put this book down, entertaining all through and you could never guess how the story will end. Brilliant. Thoroughly recommended.
Published 3 months ago by oscar
Tremendous depth of feeling
I really didn't expect to like Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I'd never seen a TV or film adaptation and assumed it would be the same old rags to riches tale with a few highs and lows... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Juliet Foster
John C
Excellent value for such a well-produced book. Delivery was relatively early on the day after the order was made. Read more
Published 5 months ago by John C
unforgettable!
This is an amazing novel - so moving, if you aren't moved to tears by poor old Tess's plight (and frustrated by Angel's weaknesses) you can't be human!
Published 6 months ago by Ms. S. R. Boatfield
A provocative look at the plight of the 19th c. woman
This is one of my favourite books. It is so beautifully written that even through the frustrations and hardships the heroine faces, you are drawn on by the power of the language... Read more
Published 7 months ago by V.R. Christensen
Brilliant, but you know that!
For some reason I never got round to reading this book as a young adult, but had watched the exquisite film Tess by Roman Polanski, which still remains one of my all time favourite... Read more
Published 7 months ago by marshwader
Expectations from a classic
Sometimes it's just good to go back and read the classics from your childhood. I won't be divulging anything new by discussing the plot of this wonderful piece of work. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sam M
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