Tess of the D'Urbervilles

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff

Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and to 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 and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.

Thomas Hardy’s timeless masterpiece is brought to life in this new recording by Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless, His Dark Materials).

With its sensitive depiction of the wronged Tess and powerful criticism of social convention, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of the most moving and poetic novels of all time.

Public Domain (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Excellent Performance

I loved this performance. What a sweet and heartbreaking story! Highly recommend this version and the book overall. Makes a person think about what women have endured for centuries.

Phenomenal narration!

Anne-Marie just brims with compassion. Her amazing voice captures all the emotions throughout the story. So far this has been the only narration capable of rendering Tess alive and relatable. Definitely recommend it for anyone who has not yet been heartbroken by this tragic masterpiece.

GREAT STORY

Very good listen. I could never get through this story reading it myself but the listen was very enjoyable especially in the native language.

Ugh. This dim witted girl.

You so want to love them but at halfway the main secret is still yet on the tip of her tounge and the simple minded man would interrupt everything. Like hush. Let her tell you. Interesting story tho

Great narration of an amazing story

Loved the narration by Anne-Marie Duff. Heart wrenching story of love, betrayal and duty to family.

A must read!

What an amazing read! My head is still reeling from this book and the unfortunate ending. First, this is a well written book with vivid detail. It is a book I could not put down.

Tess is unfortunately born into poverty, a family too large to support, a father who has grandiose ideas of himself and his hereditary and feels entitled and thus does very little to support the family. It is up to Tess, the eldest daughter to support the family. Her mother encourages her to endear herself to a “wealthy relation” which leads to sweet, innocent Tess’ societal downfall.

Just when you think she can overcome her past and find true happiness, the blows of life keep coming. The ending is not expected.

A FABULOUS Read

Can there ever be a better story told, a life portrait sketched, oh my heart still laughs and aches at the same time. Surely never! Yes, a must-read. Brilliant performance 👏 👌 thank you, Ms Anne-Marie

To Sad

Only read this of you like books to end sadly. This should not be considered a romance novel

not an improvement over Peter Firth's reading

A classic worth multiple readings (I've immersed myself in Hardy this week). The novel and adaptations are ones that I probably would have spurned as a youth (had I known about them); now I appreciate insights into life of Hardy's collected works. Of course, one can hope that naivety would go away, but there are too many Tesses in the world. Now, as for villains, they do exist, but Hardy's stylization of them is doubled in Duff's voicing of Alec; all I can think of is Snidely Whiplash. I liked the Peter Firth version better.

The narrator made the book so pleasant

It takes a little while to get to the secret,,heartbreaking story but will written and very well read!