Thomas Hardy’s thrilling story of seduction, murder, cruelty and betrayal
The Times

Thomas Hardy’s thrilling story of seduction, murder, cruelty and betrayal
The Times

Thomas Hardy’s thrilling story of seduction, murder, cruelty and betrayal
The Times

Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination… Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting
Irving Howe,

Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination… Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting
Irving Howe,

Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination… Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting
Irving Howe,

Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles has a lush sensuality about the heat of summer and the heat of lust which makes the gorgeousness of Hardy's heroine and his country of Wessex both seems utterly desirable as the tale of tragic fate unfolds
The Times

Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles has a lush sensuality about the heat of summer and the heat of lust which makes the gorgeousness of Hardy's heroine and his country of Wessex both seems utterly desirable as the tale of tragic fate unfolds
The Times

Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles has a lush sensuality about the heat of summer and the heat of lust which makes the gorgeousness of Hardy's heroine and his country of Wessex both seems utterly desirable as the tale of tragic fate unfolds
The Times

Hardy never used his 'country' and his Greek ambitions to better effect
Melvyn Bragg,

Hardy never used his 'country' and his Greek ambitions to better effect
Melvyn Bragg,

Hardy never used his 'country' and his Greek ambitions to better effect
Melvyn Bragg,

Tess’s beauty and the effect that it has on others gave me a sense of the destructive power of sex
Rufus Wainwright,

Tess’s beauty and the effect that it has on others gave me a sense of the destructive power of sex
Rufus Wainwright,

Tess’s beauty and the effect that it has on others gave me a sense of the destructive power of sex
Rufus Wainwright,

There's something about Hardy especially that appeals to the melancholic girl
Belle de Jour,

There's something about Hardy especially that appeals to the melancholic girl
Belle de Jour,

There's something about Hardy especially that appeals to the melancholic girl
Belle de Jour,

Emma Grange 18 November 2010

Some books stay with you long after you have read them, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles is definitely one of those books. It is hauntingly but beautifully tragic, and will leave you desperately moved. Hardy doesn't 'do' happy but he does do gorgeous poetic writing and there are wonderful, pastoral pauses in amongst the theatrical drama in this classic that are almost heartbreakingly sad. The story sweeps you along to its inevitible conclusion; Tess is an irresistible heroine and there are many hard-hitting, gritty themes underlying her plight. Hardy quite possibly at his very best.

Ryan Grant 08 March 2012

‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ by Thomas Hardy is a journey into the charmingly heart-breaking story of Tess Durbeyfield. Hardy is a poetic writer, with narratives of quintessentially English beauty tainted by the dark undertones of 19th Century society. ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ is Hardy at his finest; perfectly uniting the severe social context of the Industrial Age with the tragic characters that lived within its murky grasp. Tess is a protagonist whose endearing nature encourages passionate sympathy from us throughout the novel, with Hardy’s narrative so profound and poignant that we are to feel almost part of the story itself. Our fragile heroin faces uncomfortable confrontations and this is most certainly not a pleasant read, nevertheless, it is a novel of such elegiac beauty that I would strongly recommend it to any mature reader.