Image for Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Part of the Wordsworth classics series
See all formats and editions

Introduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury. Set in Hardy's Wessex, Tess is a moving novel of hypocrisy and double standards.

Its challenging sub-title, A Pure Woman, infuriated critics when the book was first published in 1891, and it was condemned as immoral and pessimistic. It tells of Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of a poor and dissipated villager, who learns that she may be descended from the ancient family of d'Urbeville.

In her search for respectability her fortunes fluctuate wildly, and the story assumes the proportions of a Greek tragedy.

It explores Tess's relationships with two very different men, her struggle against the social mores of the rural Victorian world which she inhabits and the hypocrisy of the age. In addressing the double standards of the time, Hardy’s masterly evocation of a world which we have lost, provides one of the most compelling stories in the canon of English literature, whose appeal today defies the judgement of Hardy’s contemporary critics.

Read More
Available
£2.99 Save 25.00%
RRP £3.99
Add Line Customisation
23 in stock Need More ?
Add to List
Product Details
Wordsworth Editions Ltd
1853260053 / 9781853260056
Paperback / softback
823.8
05/05/1992
United Kingdom
English
384 pages
129 x 198 mm, 240 grams
Quiz No: 211155, Points 23.00, Book Level 9.50,
Upper Years - Key Stage 3 Learn More