When peddler John Durbeyfield learns that he may be a descendant of a noble family, he sends his oldest child, Tess, to “claim kin.” Blindly ushered into harm’s way, the strong-willed yet untinctured peasant girl is not prepared for the blighted course her life will take. Nor for those whose destructive desires will determine her fate, and force Tess to make only the most desperate of choices.

From her tragic loss of innocence through betrayal and revenge, Tess’s struggle for survival challenged the era’s mores and the cruel indifference shown women in Victorian society. First published, then serialized and censored, Thomas Hardy’s unexpurgated novel is now considered his masterpiece.

Revised edition: Previously published as Tess of the d’Urbervilles, this edition of Tess of the d’Urbervilles (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.