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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles Paperback - 2003

by Thomas Hardy; Tim Dolin (Editor); Notes by Tim Dolin

Edited with Notes by Tim Dolin and an Introduction by Margaret R. Higonnet


About this book

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, was first published as a censored and serialized version in the British illustrated newspaper, The Graphic in 1891. An intimate portrait of a woman, one of literature's most admirable and tragic heroines...Tess Durbeyfield knows what it is to work hard and expect little. But her life is about to veer from the path trod by her mother and grandmother. When her ne'er-do-well father learns that his family is the last of a long noble line, the d'Urbervilles, he sends Tess on a journey to meet her supposed kin—a journey that will see her victimized by lust, poverty, and hypocrisy. 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 poignant beauty. Thomas Hardy created in Tess not a standard Victorian heroine but a woman whose intense vitality shines against the bleak backdrop of a dying way of life. The novel shocked contemporary readers with its honesty and remains a timeless commentary on the human condition. -

Summary

The chance discovery by a young peasant woman that she is a descendant of the noble family of d'Urbervilles is to change the course of her life. Tess Durbeyfield leaves home on the first of her fateful journeys, and meets the ruthless Alec d'Urberville. Thomas Hardy's impassioned story tells of hope and disappointment, rejection and enduring love.

From the publisher

A heartbreaking portrayal of a woman faced by an impossible choice in the pursuit of happiness When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her 'cousin' Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future. With its sensitive depiction of the wronged Tess and powerful criticism of social convention, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, subtitled "A Pure Woman," is one of the most moving and poetic of Hardy's novels. Based on the three-volume first edition that shocked readers when first published in 1891, this edition includes as appendices: Hardy's Prefaces, the Landscapes of Tess, episodes originally censored from the Graphic periodical version, and a selection of the Graphic illustrations. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

First Edition Identification

First published in 1891 by James R Osgood, McIlvaine & Co, London, in three volumes. Publisher's original sand-colored cloth with vertical linear designs of honeysuckle blossom on the upper covers, gilt decorations and lettering designed by Charles Ricketts. 

Details

  • Title Tess of the D'Urbervilles
  • Author Thomas Hardy; Tim Dolin (Editor); Notes by Tim Dolin
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 592
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Group, London, England
  • Date 2003-05-27
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Glossary, Illustrated, Maps, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780141439594 / 0141439599
  • Weight 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.7 x 5 x 1.1 in (19.56 x 12.70 x 2.79 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Triangles (Interpersonal relations), Women murderers
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2003270055
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

About the author

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) immortalized the site of his birth--Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester--in his writing. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school. At sixteen, Hardy was apprenticed to an architect, and for many years, architecture was his profession; in his spare time, he pursued his first and last literary love, poetry. Finally convinced that he could earn his living as an author, he retired from architecture, married, and devoted himself to writing. An extremely productive novelist, Hardy published an important book every year or two. In 1896, disturbed by the public outcry over the unconventional subjects of his two greatest novels--Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure--he announced that he was giving up fiction and afterward produced only poetry. In later years, he received many honors. He was buried in Poet's Corner, in Westminster Abbey. It was as a poet that he wished to be remembered, but today critics regard his novels as his most memorable contribution to English literature for their psychological insight, decisive delineation of character, and profound presentation of tragedy.

Tim Dolin
teaches English at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales. Margaret R. Higonnet teaches English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut.
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