Tess of the D' Urbervilles

Why didn't you tell me there was danger in men-folk? Why didn't you warn me?" Tess Durbeyfield, the young, graceful, and virtuous daughter of a poor peddler, falls prey to the unscrupulous desires of Alec d'Urberville, the rich and licentious heir of the d' Urberville estate where she is sent to work as a farmhand. After giving birth to his son who dies in a few weeks, Tess joins a dairy farm outside the village, working as a milkmaid. Her life seems to change for good when she meets Angel Clare, the progressive son of a parson, who falls in love with her and wants to marry her. But as their wedding date approaches, Tess finds herself on the horns of a dilemma, overshadowed by the bitter truth of her past. A victim of the nineteenth-century English social morality, what sort of future awaits Tess? Received critically by the readers of his era, Thomas Hardy's Tess of d' Urbervilles is a heart-rending tragedy. Listed among the best-loved novels of all time on The Big Read, a survey conducted by BBC, the novel has undergone numerous adaptations and continues to appeal to its readers."