Tess of the D'Urbervilles

By: Thomas Hardy

Narrated by: Jill Masters

Thomas Hardy, never one to be conventional, took a very unconventional moral stance in this novel, which shocked Victorian readers. In doing so, he created one of the great romantic novels of all time, the story of a striking and tragic character who came to life for the reader as she did for the author: "I have not been able to put on paper all that she is or was, to me," Hardy wrote. With this work, he not only produced a harrowing novel of seduction and abandonment, he also created his most memorable heroine.©1982 Jimcin Recordings (P)1982 Jimcin Recordings

Critic reviews

"Tess of the D'Urbervilles is generally regarded as Hardy's finest novel. A brilliant tale of seduction, love, betrayal, and murder, Tess of the D'Ubervilles yields to narrative convention by punishing Tess's sin, but boldly exposes this standard denouement of unforgiving morality as cruelly unjust. Throughout, Hardy's most lyrical and atmospheric language frames his shattering narrative." (The Literature Network)

Absolutely love Tess!

Where does Tess of the D'Urbervilles rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the best!

What other book might you compare Tess of the D'Urbervilles to and why?

Tess is a classic novel for a reason, it is an amazing story and Hardy is a beautiful writer.

Which scene was your favorite?

Absolutely too many to list, his imagery is spectacular!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes!

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend this book!

Great

The audio gets a little staticky at times but other than that a really great book

Clearly one of the Great Books and very well read.

Jill Masters brings Hardy's masterpiece to life although the technical quality could stand some improvement. Her treatment of Tess is remarkable and I am grateful to Audible for making this experience possible.

Great book

Audio messes up every so often however it did not create gaps in the story or anything like that. Very good book I had a hard time pausing.

Not a quality recording

While I would recommend this book, I would suggest you download one of the other recordings. There are too many peaks and inconsistencies in the audio. In a few scenes you can tell the narrator went back and rerecorded the script, and it was edited back in with no regard to the older audio's sound level or her reading pace. In other scenes there is a slight echo, which is very distracting, and enough places to note where the audio skips.