Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Set during the Long Depression of the 1870s, in the heart of the impoverished rural English county of Wessex, the novel centres on Tess Durbeyfield, the oldest daughter of uneducated peasants. Driven by extreme poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy d'Urbervilles, Tess encounters her 'cousin' Alec, a man who will prove to be her downfall, and who will challenge her chance of happiness with her love, Angel Clare. Now considered a classic of Ninetenth Century literature, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was met with mixed reviews on its initial release due to its challenging sexual themes. However it is now often seen as Hardy's masterpiece.