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Tess of the d'Urbervilles

A Pure Woman

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by James Wood

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by James Wood

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by Robert B. Heilman

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by Robert B. Heilman

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by Patricia Ingham

By Thomas Hardy
Introduction by Patricia Ingham

By Thomas Hardy

By Thomas Hardy

By Thomas Hardy

By Thomas Hardy

Best Seller

Part of Modern Library Classics

Part of Everyman's Library Classics Series

Paperback $10.00

Feb 13, 2001 | ISBN 9780375756795

Mass Market Paperback $6.95

May 01, 1984 | ISBN 9780553211689 *This format is not eligible to earn points towards the Reader Rewards program

Hardcover $24.00

Nov 26, 1991 | ISBN 9780679405863

Ebook $1.99

Nov 23, 2004 | ISBN 9780553900828

Ebook $2.99

Nov 01, 2000 | ISBN 9780679641513

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    Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
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    • Paperback $10.00

      Feb 13, 2001 | ISBN 9780375756795

      Also available from:

    • Mass Market Paperback $6.95

      May 01, 1984 | ISBN 9780553211689

      Also available from:

      *This format is not eligible to earn points towards the Reader Rewards program

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    • Hardcover $24.00

      Nov 26, 1991 | ISBN 9780679405863

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      Nov 23, 2004 | ISBN 9780553900828

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      Nov 01, 2000 | ISBN 9780679641513

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    About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

    Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d’Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy’s ‘bestseller,’ and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men—Alec d’Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband—Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act.

    ‘Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination,’ said Irving Howe. ‘In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman’s life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.’

    Now Tess of the d’Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d’Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield. Tess of the d’Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels.

    About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

    Violated by one man, forsaken by another, Tess Durbeyfield is the magnificent and spirited heroine of Thomas Hardy’s immortal work. Of all the great English novelists, no one writes more eloquently of tragic destiny than Hardy. With the innocent and powerless victim Tess, he creates profound sympathy for human frailty while passionately indicting the injustices of Victorian society. Scorned by outraged readers upon its publication in 1891, Tess of the d’Urbervilles is today one of the enduring classics of nineteenth-century literature.

    About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

    Set in the magical Wessex landscape so familiar from Thomas Hardy’s early work, Tess of the D’Urbervilles is unique among his great novels for the intense feeling that he lavished upon his heroine, Tess, a pure woman betrayed by love.

    Hardy poured all of his profound empathy for both humanity and the rhythms of natural life into this story of her beauty, goodness, and tragic fate. In so doing, he created a character who, like Emma Bovary and Anna Karenina, has achieved classic stature.

    (Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
     

    About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

            

    Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d’Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy’s "bestseller," and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men–Alec d’Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband–Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act.
    —-"Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination," said Irving Howe. "In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman’s life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting."
    —-Now Tess of the d’Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d’Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield. Tess of the d’Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels.

    The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foun-
    dation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library’s seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world’s best books, at the best prices.

    About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

    Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d’Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy’s ‘bestseller,’ and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men—Alec d’Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband—Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act.

    ‘Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination,’ said Irving Howe. ‘In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman’s life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.’

    Now Tess of the d’Urbervilles has been brought to television in a magnificent new co-production from A&E Network and London Weekend Television. Justine Waddell (Anna Karenina) stars as the tragic heroine, Tess; Oliver Milburn (Chandler & Co.) is Angel Clare; and Jason Flemyng is Alec d’Urberville. The cast also includes John McEnery (Black Beauty) as Jack Durbeyfield and Lesley Dunlop (The Elephant Man) as Joan Durbeyfield. Tess of the d’Urbervilles is directed by Ian Sharp and produced by Sarah Wilson, with a screenplay by Ted Whitehead; it was filmed in Hardy country, the beautiful English countryside in Dorset where Thomas Hardy set his novels.

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    Also by Thomas Hardy

    Jude the Obscure
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
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    Far from the Madding Crowd (Movie Tie-in Edition)
    See all books by Thomas Hardy

    Also by Thomas Hardy

    Jude the Obscure
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
    Far from the Madding Crowd
    Far from the Madding Crowd (Movie Tie-in Edition)
    See all books by Thomas Hardy

    Also by Thomas Hardy

    Jude the Obscure
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
    The Mayor of Casterbridge
    Far from the Madding Crowd
    Far from the Madding Crowd (Movie Tie-in Edition)
    See all books by Thomas Hardy

    About Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840. In his writing, he immortalized the site of his birth—Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester, England. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school…. More about Thomas Hardy

    About Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840. In his writing, he immortalized the site of his birth—Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester, England. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school…. More about Thomas Hardy

    About Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840. In his writing, he immortalized the site of his birth—Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester, England. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school…. More about Thomas Hardy

    About Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840. In his writing, he immortalized the site of his birth—Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester, England. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school…. More about Thomas Hardy

    About Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840. In his writing, he immortalized the site of his birth—Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester, England. Delicate as a child, he was taught at home by his mother before he attended grammar school…. More about Thomas Hardy

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Romance | Historical Fiction

    Paperback | $10.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Feb 13, 2001 | 544 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375756795

    Category: Fiction Classics | Romance | Historical Fiction

    Mass Market Paperback | $6.95
    Published by Bantam Classics
    May 01, 1984 | 480 Pages | 4-3/16 x 6-7/8 | ISBN 9780553211689

    Category: Fiction Classics | Romance | Historical Fiction

    Hardcover | $24.00
    Published by Everyman’s Library
    Nov 26, 1991 | 522 Pages | 4-7/8 x 8 | ISBN 9780679405863

    Category: Fiction Classics | Romance | Historical Fiction

    Ebook | $1.99
    Published by Bantam Classics
    Nov 23, 2004 | 480 Pages | ISBN 9780553900828

    Category: Fiction Classics | Romance | Historical Fiction

    Ebook | $2.99
    Published by Modern Library
    Nov 01, 2000 | 544 Pages | ISBN 9780679641513

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    Praise

    “[Tess of the D’Urbervilles is] Hardy’s finest, most complex and most notorious novel . . . The novel is not a mere plea for compassion for the eternal victim, though that is the banner it flies. It also involves a profound questioning of contemporary morality.” –from the Introduction by Patricia Ingham

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