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Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics)
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Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Thomas Hardy
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $8.00
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Thomas Hardy
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Average Customer Rating:
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780141439594
ISBN: 0141439599
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 592
Publication Date: 2003-05-27
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Product Release Date: 2003-05-27
Studio: Penguin Classics
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780141439594
ISBN: 0141439599
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 592
Publication Date: 2003-05-27
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Product Release Date: 2003-05-27
Studio: Penguin Classics
Editorial Review of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics)
Edited with Notes by Tim Dolin and an Introduction by Margaret R. Higonnet
Customer Reviews of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Certain Classic
Review: Tess of the D'Urbervilles is among the best novels I have read when judged on its purely literary merits. Hardy's command of imagery in his creation of the nuanced satire of society and the values it imposes upon Victorian women is outstanding. And, Hardy uses nature to structure the novel and reflect the plot. He is also able to introduce a fatalist approach to the characters' actions that flows seamlessly with his characterization of them. However, Tess is more than an invaluable piece of English literature.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is also a strong insight into the forces of nature that shape our lives. It is a tale about the unlucky girl Tess, who has to endure suffering on two fronts: from the man who takes advantage of her, and the man who rejects her. She is symbolic of the person within us all, who is oppressed by the outside world, and depressed from within. She is humanity, and her story will speak to anyone who reads this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Highly Recommended.
Review: Thomas Hardy is a definete for anyone serious about literature. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is not to be passed up, it's a treat. I didn't find it at all over descriptive nor boring.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of the most deeply moving novels in English literature
Review: Even reviewing Tess makes me choke back tears. Hardy develops one of the most truely beautiful female characters in all of English literature; then, like an evil wizzard, slowly tears her to shreds and finally grounds her into dust.
A modern young woman growing up now might find it hard to identify with Tess. She is a poor farm worker and a product of the cultural changes at the beginning of the industrial revolution in England. But there is enough of a study of basic human nature here to make her story valuable to just about any reader.
Hardy's prose is gifted, deep descriptive narative and character development. You may end up loving Tess; it's hard not to hate Hardy.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Sad classic novel
Review: This is a classic novel that is one of the saddest. It involves a very likeable, innocent country girl who is seduced by a cruel employer. She has a child by that union that dies early in infancy. She later meets a man who loves her but upon learning her past rejects her. She then meets up again with the first man, who forces her to be his mistress. The ending is very sad.
Through it all Tess maintains her dignity and is a very likeable character. This novel shows the extreme cruelty of legalistic morality that is not tempered by compassion and respect for others, particularly women during this time period.
The book is very well written if you like poetic descriptions and vivid imagery. Hardy is a master of both, and of the human drama.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Societys' Strictures
Review: Having read Tess several times years ago and then revisiting it now, I am reminded how frustrating a book it can be: frustrating that Hardy's 19th century England could be so cruel; frustrating that Tess (and others) blamed herself for being ruthlessly violated at 16; and frustrated at Angel's initial behavior after he learns of Tess' tragic and blameless past. It's just too incomprehensible for someone living in the 21st century to relate to--and you wonder about Angel's incompatible behavior--for someone of his supposed character. As much as I love the pastoral beauty of Hardy's described vales and heaths, I loathe the society under which the characters lives are always ruined. The whole books starts to seem silly and tedious when viewed from such a perspective.
Review Summary: A Certain Classic
Review: Tess of the D'Urbervilles is among the best novels I have read when judged on its purely literary merits. Hardy's command of imagery in his creation of the nuanced satire of society and the values it imposes upon Victorian women is outstanding. And, Hardy uses nature to structure the novel and reflect the plot. He is also able to introduce a fatalist approach to the characters' actions that flows seamlessly with his characterization of them. However, Tess is more than an invaluable piece of English literature.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is also a strong insight into the forces of nature that shape our lives. It is a tale about the unlucky girl Tess, who has to endure suffering on two fronts: from the man who takes advantage of her, and the man who rejects her. She is symbolic of the person within us all, who is oppressed by the outside world, and depressed from within. She is humanity, and her story will speak to anyone who reads this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Highly Recommended.
Review: Thomas Hardy is a definete for anyone serious about literature. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is not to be passed up, it's a treat. I didn't find it at all over descriptive nor boring.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of the most deeply moving novels in English literature
Review: Even reviewing Tess makes me choke back tears. Hardy develops one of the most truely beautiful female characters in all of English literature; then, like an evil wizzard, slowly tears her to shreds and finally grounds her into dust.
A modern young woman growing up now might find it hard to identify with Tess. She is a poor farm worker and a product of the cultural changes at the beginning of the industrial revolution in England. But there is enough of a study of basic human nature here to make her story valuable to just about any reader.
Hardy's prose is gifted, deep descriptive narative and character development. You may end up loving Tess; it's hard not to hate Hardy.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Sad classic novel
Review: This is a classic novel that is one of the saddest. It involves a very likeable, innocent country girl who is seduced by a cruel employer. She has a child by that union that dies early in infancy. She later meets a man who loves her but upon learning her past rejects her. She then meets up again with the first man, who forces her to be his mistress. The ending is very sad.
Through it all Tess maintains her dignity and is a very likeable character. This novel shows the extreme cruelty of legalistic morality that is not tempered by compassion and respect for others, particularly women during this time period.
The book is very well written if you like poetic descriptions and vivid imagery. Hardy is a master of both, and of the human drama.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Societys' Strictures
Review: Having read Tess several times years ago and then revisiting it now, I am reminded how frustrating a book it can be: frustrating that Hardy's 19th century England could be so cruel; frustrating that Tess (and others) blamed herself for being ruthlessly violated at 16; and frustrated at Angel's initial behavior after he learns of Tess' tragic and blameless past. It's just too incomprehensible for someone living in the 21st century to relate to--and you wonder about Angel's incompatible behavior--for someone of his supposed character. As much as I love the pastoral beauty of Hardy's described vales and heaths, I loathe the society under which the characters lives are always ruined. The whole books starts to seem silly and tedious when viewed from such a perspective.