A poor country girl’s family sends her to claim kinship with a rich house, with tragic results
What it is about
Tess Durbeyfield’s father learns that his family descends from an old noble line. Hoping for a better life, her family sends her to a wealthy household that shares the name. What follows is a long struggle between love, shame and the rules of Victorian society.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who want a major Victorian novel with great descriptions of the countryside.
What you will get
A powerful classic that is slow in places but unforgettable. It is a heavy story, so be ready for its sadness.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Classics · Victorian England · Fate · Class
Length
448 pages · ≈ 13 h
More about this book
Characters
Tess Durbeyfield and the two very different men in her life.
Setting
Rural Wessex in southern England, in the 1800s.
What makes it different
A tragedy that places the blame on society as much as on its heroine.
Feel
Beautiful, bleak and deeply sad.
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