Tess Durbeyfield is the daughter of a poor villager who suddenly learns that he is a descendant of the ancient d'Urberville family. The rich Alec d'Urberville seduces Tess and it is doubtful if he should indeed hold that family name. The child she bears dies. Tess then falls for vicar's son and marries, only to be abandoned when he was told of the seduction. From there on in, misfortune follows misfortune.

Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and died in 1928. In his early twenties Hardy lost his faith in God and he has forever had to answer his critics about his pessimism. This work produced the greatest uproar: it was contemned as immoral, pessimistic and disagreeable in the extreme.

C.C. (U.K., 2016)