Tess of the D'Urbervilles

“A pure woman.” That is how Hardy described her on the title page. The critics were outraged. The public was scandalized. And Tess remains one of the most heartbreaking heroines in all of literature.

Thomas Hardy’s masterpiece is a novel about a woman destroyed not by her own sins, but by the cruelty of men and the hypocrisy of society.

Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful, innocent country girl, discovers that her family once bore the noble name of D’Urberville. She is sent to claim kinship with a wealthy family of the same name—and meets Alec D’Urberville, who seduces (or rapes) her. She bears a child who dies. Years later, she meets Angel Clare, a gentle, idealistic young man who loves her. On their wedding night, they confess their pasts: he has had an affair; she has been “ruined.” He cannot forgive her. He leaves. Tess descends into poverty, falls back into Alec’s clutches, and finally snaps. The novel’s ending—two lovers fleeing across the moors, a police officer tapping on a stone, and the words “Justice” done—is one of the most devastating in English literature.

This is Hardy at his most angry and compassionate: a novel about the double standard, the cruelty of purity culture, and the pagan spirit of the English countryside crushed by modern morality. Tess of the D’Urbervilles was condemned as immoral when it was published. Now it is recognized as a classic.

• Hardy’s most famous novel, published in 1891, subtitled “A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”

• Attacked by critics for its sexual content and its sympathetic portrayal of a “fallen woman”

• Adapted into numerous films, including Roman Polanski’s 1979 version starring Nastassja Kinski

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears—or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that purity is not the same as innocence, and innocence is not a crime.

About the Author

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was an English novelist and poet, one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. Born in Dorset, the son of a stonemason, he trained as an architect before turning to writing. His novels are set in the semi-fictional region of “Wessex,” based on the rural countryside of southwestern England. His major works include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). The hostile reception of Jude the Obscure—attacked as obscene and blasphemous—led Hardy to abandon novel-writing and devote himself to poetry. He died in 1928; his ashes are buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey, but his heart is buried separately in Dorset, beside his first wife.