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Tess d'Urberville

Tess d'Urberville

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  • Create Date：2021-08-12 03:52:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Thomas Hardy
  • ISBN：2253005967
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Summary

Jeune paysanne innocente placée dans une famille， Tess est séduite puis abandonnée par Alec d'Urberville， un de ses jeunes maîtres。 L'enfant qu'elle met au monde meurt en naissant。
Dans la puritaine société anglaise de la fin du XIXe siècle， c'est là une faute irrémissible， que la jeune fille aura le tort de ne pas vouloir dissimuler。 Dès lors， son destin est une descente aux enfers de la honte et de la déchéance。

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Reviews

Braylon ，

y’all I did it 😭😭 I finished it anyways the ending of this book was actually insane and I had no idea where it was going EVER omg it was crazy

Jamie ，

Another favorite by Thomas Hardy。 Tess is a very complicated character who， through youth and ignorance， becomes involved with a male predator。 She is a most tragic character who is rudderless in the world and no one is there to help。

Eline ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The first time I read this novel， I cried about it for three days。 Be prepared for heartbreak， but also be prepared for a beautiful classic which happens also to be an attack on how women are treated in Victorian England。 For non-native English speakers， the use of dialect in some of the dialogues， especially in the beginning of the novel， may be a hurdle。

Adina ，

There is a strong debate regarding the introduction of sex education in schools in Romania。 I would make all the people opposing this measure read this book。 Even if it was written a few centuries ago， not much has change in certain places and families。 Widespread ignorance regarding basic knowledge of the reproductive apparatus and of the way babies are made should be our main concern。 Not the idiotic fear that all children will turn gay （lesbians are ok） or men will have children or whatever。 There is a strong debate regarding the introduction of sex education in schools in Romania。 I would make all the people opposing this measure read this book。 Even if it was written a few centuries ago， not much has change in certain places and families。 Widespread ignorance regarding basic knowledge of the reproductive apparatus and of the way babies are made should be our main concern。 Not the idiotic fear that all children will turn gay （lesbians are ok） or men will have children or whatever。 Romania is the country with most adolescent mothers in Europe。 Why？ Because nobody told them where the vagina / uterus is and how the whole thing works。 I don’t even mention that they have no idea how to use protective measures or are bullied against them by men。 It is still a shame to discuss these normal topics in many families， especially in the country。 Why do I believe this book should be read by people who are against sex education？ All the drama that is Tess life begins from one small mistake that could have been avoided if only someone told her how to protect her innocence。 Tess was weak and had no skills to protect herself from men because she was uneducated in the matter and she stood no chance when the predator came。 Tess Durbeyfield is a young， poor woman living in a village in Southern England。 However， she is very beautiful and young men start to notice her。 One day， her lazy and drunk father is informed by the village minister， Parson Tringham that he is related with an old wealthy family， D'urbervilles。 Smelling easy money， Tess’ parents encourage Tess to visit D'urbervilles estate。 The house was inhabited only by a blind widow and her son， Alec D'urbervilles。 After Tess tells Alec about her relation with him， he mockingly addresses her as cousin and later invites her to work for them。 Tess is reluctant to accept， but her mother insists。 Tess soon realises they are not actually related and she is trying hard to escape Alec’s insistent advances。 One fatidic night she fails in her resolve， without really knowing what happened and from there her life becomes a nightmare。 There will be glimpses of happiness but that moment will mark all her ultimately unhappy life。 This book is a drama， there is no doubt about it。 However， the writer somehow manages not to overwhelm the reader with despair。 There is a bit of humour， some hopeful and happy moments which make the sad parts of the story bearable。 There were a bit too many religious in this novel and some repetitive episodes but all in all it was a classic I enjoyed。 What made this book extraordinary was that Thomas Hardy， who is a man， managed to write so well the plight of women of his time。 。。。more

Izabela ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So far， out of the Hardy novels I have read， Tess of the D'Ubervilles has disturbed me most。 Not as much by the injustice of what happens to the heroine， as by the atheism or fatalism that seem to underlie the author's view of life。 It is like Hardy plays God in whom he either doesn't believe or believes to be cruel or indifferent。 He creates this heroine the reader can't help but feel for with all her heart and then he doesn't even give her hope for justice and happiness in the afterlife。 In th So far， out of the Hardy novels I have read， Tess of the D'Ubervilles has disturbed me most。 Not as much by the injustice of what happens to the heroine， as by the atheism or fatalism that seem to underlie the author's view of life。 It is like Hardy plays God in whom he either doesn't believe or believes to be cruel or indifferent。 He creates this heroine the reader can't help but feel for with all her heart and then he doesn't even give her hope for justice and happiness in the afterlife。 In the man's world in which poor Tess has the misfortune to be born， God， if He exists， is definitely male。 Interestingly， the two male protagonists， neither of whom is an angel 😉， despite the name， don't get adequate punishment。 Alec might die a violent death， but it is poor Tess who pays more dearly and Angel is rewarded with a better， unspoiled version of Tess， despite not being unspoiled himself on top of being a selfish coward。 Again， God's world is a man's world。 On a different note， I couldn't help but think how different Hardy's world is from our own。 What today would constitute a crime - a rape， is what makes demaged goods out of Tess， and seems to be only a faux pas for Alec。 I've watched enough Law and Order to know that any good lawyer could claim self-defense on Tess's part。 。。。more

Yiwen Zhang ，

为什么算名著。。。

Victoria ，

Por fin terminado， me ha costado un poco no por lo mal escrito o por lo enrevesado de la historia ， sino por la propia historia muchas descripciones del campo de los trabajos de la vida en él y me aburría un poco y por la protagonista por sus mala decisiones que me ponía de los nervio。 No me a apasiona， a pasado ni ton ni son。

Sowmya ，

*Spoiler Alert: This text may contain spoilers。*Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of the many brilliant works of Thomas Hardy。 It is a heart-wrenching tale about a girl， Tess。 To be spot-on， it literally told us about how she grew up and， by grew up， I mean to say， how she realized that the world isn’t a bed of roses like it seems when you’re a kid。 She learns the narrow-mindedness of people and the illogical rules of 19th century English society， in the harshest ways possible。 Tess， a simple and *Spoiler Alert: This text may contain spoilers。*Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of the many brilliant works of Thomas Hardy。 It is a heart-wrenching tale about a girl， Tess。 To be spot-on， it literally told us about how she grew up and， by grew up， I mean to say， how she realized that the world isn’t a bed of roses like it seems when you’re a kid。 She learns the narrow-mindedness of people and the illogical rules of 19th century English society， in the harshest ways possible。 Tess， a simple and pretty country girl， would never have imagined the ways one could get trapped into the clutches of the real world。 What started it all？ I’d say， the thought that makes you want to reach a higher position in society。 Well， money was， has， and still will be， a very important decision-making quotient。 We can easily say that many choices we make in our lives are in some way or other related to money。 So， that is exactly what Tess’s parents wanted。 Never did anyone assume that she’d meet the unscrupulous Alec D’Urberville。 Speaking of Alec， we cannot miss the scene in the woods， which， to this day， has been a discussion of debate。 There’s one school of thought that says that Alec seduced Tess， and another that argues that he raped her。 Maybe， Hardy deliberately wanted it to sound like a garble。 Maybe， it was in a weirdly unexplainable way， a bit of both。 Alec did have his wily ways with her since the moment he laid eyes on her。 It did feel sometimes like Tess succumbed to his artful ways of flirting but the pain she felt and the way she abhors Alec， it did seem like she was violated。 I think the famous interaction between Tess and her mother after the incident will never leave my heart。“O mother， my mother！ How could I be expected to know？ I was a child when I left this house four months ago。 Why didn’t you tell me there was danger in men-folk？ Why didn’t you warn me？ Ladies know what to fend hands against， because they read novels that tell them of these tricks; but I never had the chance o’ learning in that way， and you did not help me！The last line probably hits close to home for many people。 When she hurts at the fact that she had to suffer only because she wasn’t one of the ‘ladies’ who had the privilege of knowing something， which， her mother should probably have told her in the first place， is deep。 Not just Alec， the fruit of his misdemeanor is the bastard she had to raise in front of the judging eyes of everyone around her。 Despite all that， we see the motherliness Tess had in her， for the child she did not want in the first place。 Tess felt an intense loss when her son died and furthermore when nobody let her bury him in the church because he was a bastard。 She questioned how unfair it was to an absolutely pure soul， who knew nothing of the world before its eyes had shut forever。 After all that happened to her， she still stood strong and faced life head-on to open new chapters in her life and move on from the absolutely sore past。 It was not easy。 She never felt she deserved love。 She felt like she had sinned in some way， until the day she realized how much she loved Angel and how much she deserved the love he gave her。 Alas， the happy times were short-lived。 There is another juncture where Angel talked about the sins he had committed in the past and when she finally brought herself to open up about her past to her husband， he pushed her away。 Being violated seemed worse to him than deliberately laying with a woman out of wedlock。 Why？ Only because she was a woman。 Not just him， the societal pressure of the time made people think with their feet。 Angel did realize his utter blunder and came back to begging for forgiveness but not before it had gotten too late。 There was not one part of the book that did not have a gripping feel to it。 Something was always happening。 What’s more， it felt as real as it could get。 Hardy has always been a writer whose beliefs ran far beyond his time！ He constantly kept fighting the wrong notions of people that needed to change for the better。 Not just in Tess， in the book far from the madding crowd， which has a similar pastoral background and simple characters， he says the famous quotes:“It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs。” “Well， what I mean is that I shouldn’t mind being a bride at a wedding， if I could be one without having a husband。”“She was of the stuff of which great men’s mothers are made。 She was indispensable to high generation， feared at tea parties， hated in shops， and loved at crises。”“It appears that ordinary men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage， and that ordinary women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without possession。”“I don’t see why a maid should take a husband when she’s bold enough to fight her own battles。”All in all， Hardy’s writings have a worth that cannot be explained easily。 Well， it can be understood by reading his work。 So， grab his work and see the insight he was filled with！ 。。。more

Tory Butler ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Great classic novel but not the ending you would expect！！

Glenn Blake ，

The writing seemed wooden; the words unnatural。 This was the first Hardy novel I read， and I disliked it so much that I was never going to read another。 Thankfully I did and everything else by Thomas Hardy I have really enjoyed， so I am baffled why I disliked this one so much。

Ermocolle ，

“Prendendo in considerazione quello che Tess non era， Angel trascurava quello che Tess era e dimenticava che la cosa imperfetta può avere più valore di quella completa e intera。”Ho letto questo romanzo durante una vacanza in Cornovaglia。Mi è piaciuto molto e mi sono soffermata al ritorno nei pressi del sito di Stonehenge che è associato alla leggenda di re Artú ma per me resta il luogo dove fu trovata Tess addormentata con il suo Angel e poi portata sul luogo della sua esecuzione。

Susan Soesbe ，

Worth Reading for the Masterful Descriptions of Rural Victorian EnglandMy lifelong project is to read all the English-language classics。 I had already ploughed through The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd， so I had a good idea of what to expect: tragic characters in beautiful country landscapes。 Make that tragic main character a young woman of stunning beauty and， well， you know what will happen。 If you’ve read any of the other reviews here， you already know the plot of the b Worth Reading for the Masterful Descriptions of Rural Victorian EnglandMy lifelong project is to read all the English-language classics。 I had already ploughed through The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd， so I had a good idea of what to expect: tragic characters in beautiful country landscapes。 Make that tragic main character a young woman of stunning beauty and， well， you know what will happen。 If you’ve read any of the other reviews here， you already know the plot of the book。 So I’ll just throw in my two cents。I’m no historian， but I suspect that Tess of the d'Urbervilles reveals more about Hardy than about the Victorian era or English culture。 He has created a truly pure woman （the subtitle gives it away） who possesses a transcendent beauty。 She leaves no one unmoved， Everyone， male and female， either adores her or wants to use her。 To all this， Tess merely responds。 She seems to have no idea who she is or what her life is about except as a stimulus to others。 She possesses no agency。 Her parents use her。 A rich “gentleman” uses her。 Her employers use her （Farmer Crick of Talbothays being a notable exception）。 Another gentleman loves her。 Another employer uses her。 While Tess excites my sympathy， she fails to excite my interest。 While reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles， I began to suspect that Hardy was using his protagonist merely to make his point（s）。 Tess seems so spiritless that when we get right up to the tragic end of her relationship with Alec d'Urberville， I don’t believe it。 And when Hardy takes his heroine and her lover to Stonehenge， well…。 You could call it clever， or you could call it heavy handed。 Hardy seems to just be using Tess， like everyone else。It is said that every author is the god of their own story。 Hardy may be making the point that Victorian women， due to the constraints of society， were denied any agency in their own lives， right out of the box。 Such a use of the main character would be ironic indeed， and perhaps exactly what the author was going for。 In that case， score one for Thomas Hardy。 His pure， moral， transcendently beautiful pagan woman， dies as an innocent sacrifice because of a morally bankrupt， hypocritical society that wouldn’t know goodness if it hit it over the head with a steam threshing machine。You see how I got that threshing machine in there？ You’ll see a lot more of that kind of thing in Tess of the d'Urbervilles。 In fact， one of the more interesting aspects of the novel for me was its descriptions of the English landscape and of farming。 Yes， I’ve watched the BBC’s Victorian Farm， and Hardy’s descriptions will bring you right into the thick of 19th century agricultural Britain。Read this， and feel that atmosphere:“The rains having passed， the uplands were dry。 The wheels of the dairyman’s spring-cart， as he sped home from market， licked up the pulverized surface of the highway， and were followed by white ribands of dust， as if they had set a thin powder-train on fire。 The cows jumped wildly over the five-barred barton-gate， maddened by the gad-fly; Dairyman Crick kept his shirt-sleeves permanently rolled up from Monday to Saturday; open windows had no effect in ventilation without open doors， and in the dairy-garden the blackbirds and thrushes crept about under the currant-bushes， rather in the manner of quadrupeds than of winged creatures。 The flies in the kitchen were lazy， teasing， and familiar， crawling about in the unwonted places， on the floors， into drawers， and over the backs of the milkmaids’ hands。 Conversations were concerning sunstroke; while butter-making， and still more butter-keeping， was a despair。”This is not purple prose。 It’s effective description that creates atmosphere and puts the reader right into the story。 I love visiting rural England。 I love the land， the plants， the sky， the weather…。 This book took me there for a while。 But I didn’t have to experience the hard work and abuse that Tess endured。 If you’re like me， you may enjoy listening to the Librivox version while gardening or cooking or drinking tea。 I’d love to buy an annotated version of Tess of the d'Urbervilles， if I could find one with some really good notes。 Does anyone out there have a recommendation？ 。。。more

Shreya ，

This broke my heart completely and， unlike lots of other Victorian novels， it didn’t have an optimistic tone。 Tess’ suffering at the hands of society and fate is truly tragic， and the novel itself is a very bleak read。 The pace made it quite captivating but some of the descriptions felt excessively long， although maybe I’m just not intelligent enough to appreciate it fully… Also， make sure you have tissues nearby if you do read it！

Erin ，

To be fair， I read on my own， without stopping much to think about any deeper meanings。 An interesting question I did debate is whether Hardy uses Tess to point out the hypocrisy of blaming women for acts forced upon them， which would actually make Hardy quite a liberal thinker。 I guess I should appreciate that at some point， he did give her just a hint of agency and self-centeredness。

Kenz ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Poor Tess

lauraღ ，

I mean， it was fine。 I get it， but I didn't get anything out of it。 When you read books set in a certain time， you have to put your mindset in that time period and resign yourself to the mores and sensibilities of that time。 But it felt so pointless reading about Tess going through all this struggle and hardship for absolutely nothing。 I mean， of course， Hardy was shining light on how absolutely cruel and unfair that society is to women in Tess's position， and I felt really badly for her， but I I mean， it was fine。 I get it， but I didn't get anything out of it。 When you read books set in a certain time， you have to put your mindset in that time period and resign yourself to the mores and sensibilities of that time。 But it felt so pointless reading about Tess going through all this struggle and hardship for absolutely nothing。 I mean， of course， Hardy was shining light on how absolutely cruel and unfair that society is to women in Tess's position， and I felt really badly for her， but I also just。。。 IDK。 It wasn't an enlightening or enjoyable reading experience。 I kind of hated the ending （the very ending， with those two particular people walking away together）。 The writing was good， and sometimes insightful， but anytime Hardy started talking about the innate nature of women （whether he was saying something positive or negative） I felt my eyes rolling right out of my head。The best thing I can say about this book is that I listened to the audiobook as read by Davina Porter， and it was really good！ 100% would not have completed it without her。 I've been on a mission to read all the Audible books I bought a while back， and this is another one under my belt。 But god， do I feel like I sorta wasted my time。 。。。more

Bella ，

i can’t tell who i hate more tess or the men

Mihaela Strenc ，

Cred ca e cel mai deprimant roman al lui Hardy。

Elena Henreckson ，

A favorite from the late Victorian Era。 It asks the fundamental question "why do bad things happen to good people？" and demonstrates the shifting paradigms regarding God， religion， nature， and science that lead up to the beginning of the modern era。 A favorite from the late Victorian Era。 It asks the fundamental question "why do bad things happen to good people？" and demonstrates the shifting paradigms regarding God， religion， nature， and science that lead up to the beginning of the modern era。 。。。more

Emocionaria ，

Si tuviese que definir en una palabra este libro sería sorprendente。El libro toca temas que me parecen absolutamente transgresores para la época victoriana， como la violación o el suicidio。 Refleja la moral de la sociedad con respecto a la sexualidad de las mujeres， concibiendo la virginidad como símbolo de pureza。 La mujer que no llegaba virgen al matrimonio era denostada， vilipendiada y repudiada， incluso si la relación sexual fue no consentida， como en el caso de Tess， la protagonista。Hasta t Si tuviese que definir en una palabra este libro sería sorprendente。El libro toca temas que me parecen absolutamente transgresores para la época victoriana， como la violación o el suicidio。 Refleja la moral de la sociedad con respecto a la sexualidad de las mujeres， concibiendo la virginidad como símbolo de pureza。 La mujer que no llegaba virgen al matrimonio era denostada， vilipendiada y repudiada， incluso si la relación sexual fue no consentida， como en el caso de Tess， la protagonista。Hasta tal punto que la propia Tess propone quitarse la vida para salvaguardar la honra de su marido， hablando explícitamente de suicidio。Si algo le reconozco a Hardy es su valentía para retratar la sociedad de la época sin adornos ni decoro， señalando de manera directa y clara la doble moral existente a la hora de juzgar la sexualidad de hombres y mujeres。El libro tiene un ritmo lento， que en ocasiones se hace pesado。 Si a esto se le suma una traducción terrible， como la de Alianza Editorial， la lectura se vuelve farragosa， impidiendo en ocasiones concentrarse en la historia。 Es increíble como una mala traducción puede estropear un buen libro。Os animo a leerlo， aunque sea en otra edición， y a descubrir el inesperado final de esta truculenta y triste historia。Yo ya sumo a Hardy entre mis recomendaciones de clásicos 。。。more

Erin ，

An immensely frustrating book （good， though） that shows the folly of Victorian Christian perceptions of male/female relationships and "purity"。I was silently saying to Tess the same thing I would say to Love Island contestants when their boys come back from Casa Amor with another girl: "just leave him。"Of course it's not so simple if the alternative is a threshing machine。 An immensely frustrating book （good， though） that shows the folly of Victorian Christian perceptions of male/female relationships and "purity"。I was silently saying to Tess the same thing I would say to Love Island contestants when their boys come back from Casa Amor with another girl: "just leave him。"Of course it's not so simple if the alternative is a threshing machine。 。。。more

Julia Coggins ，

I related to Tess so much。 A beautifully sad story。

Susan Myrick ，

Very long book。 A bit boring。 Actually read it for my daughter’s English class。 She couldn’t get into it。

Haley Parker ，

“The Woman Pays”。 That about sums up it up。 I applaud Thomas Hardy on his ability to write such a feminist book as a man in 1891。 Way to go Thomas， you wrote a devastating book that captures the problems of society even today。

Hannah Ariff ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A young woman in the 1800s is screwed over by basically every man she meets。 I think this is what you would call， an epic。 I was surprised by how much I liked this book。 Such flowery and sometimes obtuse prose。 But I think it benefitted from being read whilst I was breastfeeding my daughter。 I had nowhere to go so I could sit back and enjoy it。 I think half the pleasure I got from this was understanding what was being said。 I love Hardy’s style but you definitely have to be in the mood for it。 A A young woman in the 1800s is screwed over by basically every man she meets。 I think this is what you would call， an epic。 I was surprised by how much I liked this book。 Such flowery and sometimes obtuse prose。 But I think it benefitted from being read whilst I was breastfeeding my daughter。 I had nowhere to go so I could sit back and enjoy it。 I think half the pleasure I got from this was understanding what was being said。 I love Hardy’s style but you definitely have to be in the mood for it。 And you can’t skim read。 Every word has to be read carefully。 Twice。 As for the plot。 I had just finished Dominicana when I started this book and there were parallels for sure。 Both women sold into marriage or at least to men， raped and then fall pregnant。 For the protagonist of Dominicana she sees her baby as her saviour， not so for Tess。 Oh， poor bloody Tess！ Hardy is sympathetic to the plight of women， taking into account when this was written ， women were basically property。 He could easily have written the 2 antagonists，Angel & Alec as caricatures but by their own actions are they condemned。 And Tess could easily be annoying with how she constantly defends Clare and does herself down。 Her pride and her hard work are her saving grace。The end felt a little melodramatic but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place。 Continue to be married to her attacker， or go back to the man that abandoned her。 I think it’s a shame that Tess chose to go back to Angel， in my opinion a better end for her would have been to leave them both。 I guess the end is saying， women are dying for the sins of men， she’s made into a Christ like figure， or at least a martyr。 。。。more

carmen ，

this book is depression in a nutshell lol。 i understand that the blurb had literally mentioned that this was a tale of hopelessness and desperation but i didn't think it would get that depressing。 in some way， despite of tess's troubling life， i still thought that it would all boil down to us finally getting a happy ending。 but nope！ thomas hardy declared no mercy on us readers and gave us a hopeless， heart-wrenching ending。 'tess of the d'urbervilles' is the story of young tess durbeyfield who this book is depression in a nutshell lol。 i understand that the blurb had literally mentioned that this was a tale of hopelessness and desperation but i didn't think it would get that depressing。 in some way， despite of tess's troubling life， i still thought that it would all boil down to us finally getting a happy ending。 but nope！ thomas hardy declared no mercy on us readers and gave us a hopeless， heart-wrenching ending。 'tess of the d'urbervilles' is the story of young tess durbeyfield who sets out on a mission to help her family by claiming kin with her distant d'urberville cousin alec。 one thing leads to another and we are then plunged into following the next few years of her life。 however， as you can already tell， things don't go according to plan and you， as the reader， are forced to witness her crappy life events unfold bit by bit。 as the story is set in rural england in the late 19th century， gender inequality and double standards is HUGE。 a thing i noted was that there is a parallel between the reader and our dear protagonist。 just like tess who is treated unfairly due to the reasons mentioned above and is left hopeless and surrendered to fate， we can only helplessly read on， deprived of the power to change or do anything。 at some point， i thought tess' decisions were simply awful and i couldn't stand how dumb she could be but alas！ 'twas the norm back then。 this should serve as a good reminder to everyone to always be mindful and aware of the context especially when delving into classics or books out of the contemporary genre。 in an alternate universe， i would have loved to go on and on about the themes and stuff but i'm way past my english literature analysis days。 as sad and gloomy as it was， i'm still really glad that i read the book。 it's a true tragedy， worse than 'macbeth' or 'of mice and men'。 the language was mad difficult， i'm pretty sure in every chapter that i'd read， i had to search up the definition of at least 3 words。 i wouldn't say that it completely destroyed my reading experience but it was a hindrance。 like how am i supposed to feel them emotions if i come across this intense sentence and suddenly find myself having to search up the definition of something？ because of this， i might reconsider reading it for a second time in the future。 about the ending， i initially came across several spoilers of it and i thought 'ugh， now that i know what's happened， i don't think i'll be able to enjoy the rest of the story anymore'。 i nearly gave up right after the first few chapters but this book and several redditors in a thread taught me an important lesson: it's not about the what， but the how。 it turns out that regardless of whether you know what happens at the end or not， a great book will still be able to pull you in and keep you hooked until the end。 and that is what 'tess of the d'urbervilles' is。 in fact， i had been so invested in the 'how' that i ended up losing track of the earlier spoilers and getting shocked all the same when it reached the climax！one-liner review: just when you think things can't get worse， they do。 。。。more

UliEire ，

Literarisch und sprachlich wirklich lesenswert。 Aber Tess' Leidensgeschichte machte es mir wirklich schwer， das Buch zu beenden。。。 Literarisch und sprachlich wirklich lesenswert。 Aber Tess' Leidensgeschichte machte es mir wirklich schwer， das Buch zu beenden。。。 。。。more

agenbiteofinwit ，

I didn't give this a 5 stars simply because I think Tess can be less silly to fall into the traps， didn't she？ It's gotten me very frustrated to see her being "won" by Alec again and again。 It is simply a preventable mess， in my opinion。 And surely， we mustn't blame an unsophisticated woman for all faults being laid upon her。 But as I said， she could've go away without undergoing so many troubles especially when she recognised what a man Alec was。 I didn't give this a 5 stars simply because I think Tess can be less silly to fall into the traps， didn't she？ It's gotten me very frustrated to see her being "won" by Alec again and again。 It is simply a preventable mess， in my opinion。 And surely， we mustn't blame an unsophisticated woman for all faults being laid upon her。 But as I said， she could've go away without undergoing so many troubles especially when she recognised what a man Alec was。 。。。more

Clara Carpintero ，

Se ha convertido en uno de mis libros favoritos de la vida。 Hardy es increíble

Therese ，

Truly heartbreaking。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Tess d'Urberville

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Tess d'Urberville&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Tess d'Urberville&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0