'She looked absolutely pure. Nature in her fantastic trickery had set such a seal of
maidenhood upon Tess's countenance that he gazed at her with a stupefied air: Tess- say it is
not true! No it is not true!' Young Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family's fortunes
by claiming their connection with the aristocratic d'Urbervilles. But Alec d'Urberville is a
rich wastrel who seduces her and makes her life miserable. When Tess meets Angel Clare she is
offered true love and happiness but her past catches up with her and she faces an agonizing
moral choice. Hardy's indictment of society's double standards and his depiction of Tess as 'a
pure woman' caused controversy in his day and has held the imagination of readers ever since.
Hardy thought it his finest novel and Tess the most deeply felt character he ever created.
This unique critical text is taken from the authoritative Clarendon edition which is based on
the manuscript collated with all Hardy's subsequent revisions.
