Tess of the D’ Urbervilles

Tess of the D’ Urbervilles – by Thomas Hardy that explores themes of social hypocrisy, fate, and the rigid moral codes of Victorian England. The story is set in Hardy’s fictional Wessex, beginning when the impoverished Tess Durbeyfield learns from her father that they are descended from the ancient, noble d’Urberville family. Driven by family poverty, Tess is sent to “claim kin” with the wealthy Alec d’Urberville. Alec, a libertine, seduces (or rapes) Tess, leading to the birth of her child, Sorrow, who dies in infancy.