After a successful reception as a serial, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was published in book form and consisted of three volumes. In late , the entire set was combined into one volume and sold well. By , Hardy authorized a paperback version of the novel, which sold , editions in England in one year. Hardy continually tinkered with the subsequent editions, and he worked on revisions up until the time of his death in Although the first reviews of the novel were generally good, later critics charged that the book had some serious defects.
The Saturday Review called the novel "an unpleasant novel told in a very unpleasant way. Coleridge , Bret Harte, and Mowbray Morris. Harper's Weekly called Tess "artificial" and "not in the reality of any sane world we recognize. It seems, however, that Hardy overlooked the positive reviews, and after reading Morris' review, Hardy wrote, "Well, if this sort of thing continues no more novel-writing for me.
He would write only one more novel, Jude the Obscure. Still, Tess continued to sell well in Hardy's time and has spawned a great wealth of literary criticism that continues even today. The negative critics have been silenced, and Tess continues to be read and reread as a classic of English literature. The Victorian Era when Hardy lived was a time of great change. Queen Victoria ruled England from until her death in During her year reign, England became the most powerful and wealthiest country in the world through its colonial acquisition and by harnessing the power of the Industrial Revolution.
The population in England doubled during Victoria's reign, and the economy of the country changed from agriculture-based to industry-based. More people were enfranchised that is, given the right to vote and, through this, gained influence in government. More books in this series: Flame Tree Collectable Classics. You may also like: Thriller and Mystery Staff Picks. Thank you for signing up, fellow book lover! See More Categories. Your First Name. Zip Code. Thank you! The novel shocked contemporary readers with its honesty and remains a timeless commentary on the human condition.
Publisher's original sand-colored cloth with vertical linear designs of honeysuckle blossom on the upper covers, gilt decorations and lettering designed by Charles Ricketts. The first American edition was published in January, , and censored many events in the original British text that dealt with more mature themes. He began preparation for it in , when he was 48 years old. The next year, it began to appear in serial form in The Graphic , a popular family magazine.
Its editors were very conservative and kept asking Hardy to tone down the more obviously sexual parts, even objecting to when Angel carries Tess and the girls over a flooded part of the road.
Hardy obliged, inventing a wheelbarrow in this particular case. Because of the nature of family reading, late Victorian Britain was still very reluctant to allow any sort of physical description of sexuality in literature.
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