Tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, forced by her family's poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles. Violated by the son Alec; her hopes of rebuilding her life with the gentle and bookish Angel Clare founder when he learns of her past. This story examines conventional morality through Tess herself.

Jude Fawley, the stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty from the world of Christminster privilege, finds fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both have left earlier marriages. Ironically, when tragedy tests their union it is Sue, the modern emancipated woman, who proves unequal to the challenge.

Wessex was the 'partly-real, partly-dream' county that formed the backdrop for most of Hardy's writings - named after an Anglo-Saxon kingdom and modelled on the counties of Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The poems deal with Hardy themes of disappointment in love and life and the struggle to live a meaningful life.

When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her cousin Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.

Contains stories that include The Melancholy Hussar , A Tragedy of Two Ambitions , The First Countess of Wessex , Barbara of the House of Grebe , For Conscience' Sake , The Son's Veto , On the Western Circuit , An Imaginative Woman , A Changed Man , and Enter a Dragoon .

Young Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family's fortunes by claiming their connection with the aristocratic D'Urbervilles. But Alec D'Urberville is a rich wastrel who seduces her and makes her life miserable. When Tess meets Angel Clare she is offered true love and happiness, but her past catches up with her and she faces an agonizing moral choice. This OCR-endorsed edition also contains .

The classic novel, read by Michael Pennington

Part one of a two-volume selection of Hardy's short fiction. This volume covers the stories contained in Wessex Tales (1888) and A Group of Noble Dames (1891).

Created and edited by Justin Kestler and Ben Florman, SparkNotes Literature Guides provide analysis of (currently) 175 classic works of English and foreign language literature - novels, biographies, plays and poetry - that most commonly appear on examination syllabuses. These books provide the insights that today's students need to know.

Anne Garland, who lives with her widowed mother in a mill owned by Miller Loveday, has three suitors. While Festus' aggressive pursuit deters the young woman from considering him as a husband, the indecisive Anne wavers between light-hearted Bob and gentle, steadfast John. This is a tale of love and desire.

Classic / British English (Available April 2008) Michael Henchard is a wealthy and respected man, but he has a terrible secret. Twenty years ago, when he was unemployed and penniless, he sold his wife to a sailor. Now she is looking for him again. Why? And what will happen when she finds him?

Hardy's wonderfully evocative tales tell of a rural world that is lost, but whose verities still engage the reader today. Afterword by Peter Harness.

One of a series of literary texts edited for study by 14-18 year olds in English-speaking classrooms.