Tess of the d'Urbervilles

This novel initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891 and in book form in 1892. It tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield who was driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune. Then she meets her 'cousin' Alec who proves to be her downfall. Though now considered a major nineteenth-century English novel and possibly Hardy's fictional masterpiece, Tess of the d'Urbervilles received mixed reviews when it first appeared, in part because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England.