No one writes like Hardy.

This "ahead of his time" feminist, did due justice to helping us understand the impossibility of being a virtuous woman during Victorian times. Hardy story of Tess will break your heart, and immediately make you empathetic of any young woman of less than great means during that era.

What I love about the story, and what I love about Thomas Hardy, is, he doesn't stray away from the realities of the time. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Hardy spends a great deal of time walking you through the daily life of a young woman who has a pure heart, and pure love for her family, yet the constraints of the time that were literally forced upon her, make it completely impossible for her to ever have peace in her life.

Thomas Hardy is infinitely re-readable, and this is my second reread of this novel, but it will not be my last. If you have been sleeping on Thomas Hardy, or if you have been afraid of picking up Victorian literature, because you believe it will be bland, look no further. Thomas Hardy offers up a tragically.

This unique story that will stay with you for a lifetime.