Tess of the D'Urbervilles

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Jilly Bond

Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of an impoverished family, must navigate a world of desire and romance once she meets Alec d'Urberville. The son of a rich widow, he takes a fancy to her and gets her a position as the poultry keeper on his family's estate. However, her good fortune is soon complicated by Alec's libertine ways, and Tess returns home shamed.

Once recovered, she separates herself from the gossip by finding work at a dairy farm outside the village. There, she meets and falls for Angel Clare, the eligible youngest son of the local reverend. But as her life begins to change for the better, she is troubled by a moral dilemma: whether or not to tell Angel about her past.

Set in the fictional county of Wessex, Tess of the d'Urbervilles reflects on issues of classism, industrialism, hypocrisy, and virtue. Often considered to be Thomas Hardy's masterpiece, it received mixed reviews upon its publication due to its frank discussion of female sexuality and the hypocrisy of Victorian morality.

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Classic

There is a reason that this book has remained a classic. Tess is one of the best tragic heroines in all of literature. A must read for everyone.

Passions, Lamentations, And Tragedy--

--Which is what you'd generally expect from any Thomas Hardy work.
What sets this version apart from other versions, is the magnificent performance by Jilly Bond (whom I first encountered from her work on Lucy Dillon's novels). Sometimes screechy (peasants running riot and singing drunken tunes), always passionate, Bond turns in an emotional and truthful rendition of this Hardy novel.
As always, what stands in the way of a perfect 5-star rating is Hardy's over-the-top beating down on the reader/listener's head of tragedy, Tragedy, TRAGEDY! With so much weeping, recriminations, self-loathing, and poorly considered choices that the listener becomes quite inured to the emotional devastation all around of the characters. Still, he is a brilliant writer with lovely phrases, exceptional wording, and imagery the likes of which you will find nowhere else.
Bond's narration, however, makes this the very best of versions of this work on Audible. Worth the time, even worth the wallowing through that which could have been self-edited, this book will transport you to a world where fear and longing eclipse character, and the oh so human appetite for joy drives all to commit the tragic.

riveting.

Darn you, Thomas Hardy. Harken unto my words, it left me absolutely bereft. Jilly's vocal talent was just wonderful.