Tess of the d'Urbervilles

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Tess Durbeyfield, a peasant girl and cast-off descendant of English aristocracy, has become one of the most famous female protagonists in 19th-century British literature. Betrayed by the two men in her life - Alec D’Urberville, her seducer/rapist and father of her fated child; and Angel, her intellectual and pious husband - Tess takes justice, and her own destiny, into her delicate hands. In telling her desperate and passionate story, Hardy brings Tess to life with an extraordinary vividness that makes her live in the heart of the reader long after the novel is concluded.

Public Domain (P)1994 Recorded Books, LLC

Another Great Performance by Davina Porter

I read this book while at school and remembered it being a sad story. Davina Porter is brilliant and made the characters come to life. Very well done; a great listen!

Interesting drama

The narrator made it enjoyable to read. I didn’t realize it was that long though. I might do another classic book later on

Sad tale of a naive girl

It was depressing. Poor Tess couldn't cut a break due to lack of knowledge and people who abused her naitivity.
I felt very sorry for her.

A tragedy, but I really liked it

"Tess of the d'Urbervilles:A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented" is a tragedy, but I really liked it.

I listened, via Audible, to (what is described as) Thomas Hardy's greatest work (17 hours 6 minutes) narrated by the great Davina Porter. I also read a little bit via the FREE app Gutenberg.
Alert: I'm going to say that there are some mild spoilers here, but if you read a Wikipedia entry, you would get much more of the story than I am including.
Oh my goodness, where to begin...? I had never read this book before, and have not seen a movie or TV production, so I went in with no expectations. This book was first published in a serialized form in 1891 and as a full volume in 1892.
Thinking about the themes, the content, the scandal-of-it-all, I'm sure it was censored at the time it was published, and people were likely shocked! Gasp! While there are no graphic sex scenes at all, the things that happen to Tess, the way she is treated, and that a smarmy man relentlessly pursues her, had to "heighten the color" of the most upstanding persons!
The story takes place roughly 20 years before the publication date. Tess Derbyfield is 16 years old, and the eldest child in a poor family in rural England. Her father, John, is a slacker who drinks. Her mother, Joan, has several younger children and a house to care for, and doesn't seem too smart or resourceful. As it turns out, the Derbyfield name is an alteration over time, of the well to do d'Urberville family name. There is no d'Urberville money, lands, or title left, but John Derbyfield becomes a legend in his own mind, and the tragedy begins here.
The family is in dire straits and they send young Tess to "claim kin" with a nearby cousin, the aforementioned smarmy man, who is actually not a d'Urberville, but is of a family using the name. Ugh. Tess doesn't like him, and her instincts are correct. At length, it is implied that he rapes her, and in the era that the story takes place, this is all HER fault, SHE suffers all of the consequences, it is a reflection on HER family, SHE is a woman of poor morals, etc. This violation follows her the rest of her tragic, tragic, life, and it ruins her. She can't catch a break. But still, I really liked this book! Somehow, I think even if a person does not have a degree in literature, they can recognize a great story, and this one gets five stars from me.
Reading a story based in the 1870's here in 2019 requires a lot of putting yourself in someone else's shoes, in someone else's time. I hope that for compassionate people in our time, TESS would not be seen as the one who is at fault for being assaulted. I think Hardy was a man before his time and that he saw what was wrong with the way Victorian England viewed situations like this.
I am already a fan of the narrator Davina Porter, who reads all of the books in Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. She is an amazing reader with a multitude of voices and dialects. Because I know her voices so well, I had moments of confusion listening to the story. One of the main characters in the Outlander series is Claire Fraser, and in this book, one of the characters is a Mr. Angel Clare. In the early pages, when the narrator said "Clare" I heard "Claire" and was a bit confused, but got past that. The smarmy guy and the almost hero had similar voices in the narration, and both sounded like a really evil character in Outlander, so I had a difficult time even trusting the "good guy" because of his voice.
This is probably a terrible "sales pitch," but if you are interested in classic literature, I recommend this tragic, but memorable story of a young woman who really gets handed a rotten deal through no fault of her own.
(This review is also posted on goodreads.com)

Oh my goodness, what drama!

I listened to the entire book, but felt impatience from beginning to end with the thoughts, and actions, of the characters. However, it did succeed in bringing out strong emotions in me, mostly of frustration with the characters in involved. Not my cup of tea.
D. Scott
Santa Fe, NM

Mike Plaiss

If you like soap operas - very well-written soap operas - you’ll love this. Heartbreaking story.

Still Wonderful.

It's a classic for a reason. It's wonderful and has to be listened to at lease once a year.

Favorite book

Excellent narration too. This is a classic book for good reason. Totally engrossing. You must read this if you haven't.

Tragic story

Interesting that a man can write a story so poignant and filled with complex female emotions.

Davina Porter Does It Again!

Highly recommend! I read this book years ago, then had listened to another version of audiobook read by another narrator, and then found this Davina Porter version and couldn't resist listening again. I'm glad I did. By far the best experience out if the three.