An Apple Books Classic edition.

Thomas Hardy’s highly controversial novel tells the story of a young woman destroyed by forces beyond her control. When Tess Durbeyfield learns her impoverished family is, in fact, descended from the noble D’Urbervilles, her parents send her to claim kinship with their wealthy relatives. What follows is a tragedy shaped by a society that punishes women for the crimes committed against them. Tess endures assault and abandonment, facing relentless judgment as she struggles to survive.

Hardy refused to soften Tess’ story, creating a heroine whose suffering exposes Victorian cruelty and hypocrisy. Heartbreaking and uncompromising, Tess of the D’Urbervilles remains one of literature’s most powerful indictments of a world that destroys its most innocent.