BOOKS FROM ENGLANDTess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy
Tags:
Set in England
Male author
Description:
A ne'er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter's beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of tragic fiction. Hardy's 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading.