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Sign up todayTess of the D’Urbervilles
A Pure Woman
Narrator
Geoffrey Howard
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Length
14 hours 15 minutes
Language
English
Thomas Hardy's novel of seduction and abandonment introduced his most memorable tragic heroine, the unworldly maiden Tess. On her morning journey to earn money for her impoverished family, Tess' horse has an accident, forcing her to seek assistance from some newly rich relatives. There, she is vigorously pursued by Alec, who corners her in a field one night and takes advantage of her. After bearing a child who quickly dies, Tess meets and falls in love with Angel, a minister's son who is infatuated with the image of Tess as the pure country maid. But when he learns the truth of her past, he shuns his new bride and leaves Tess once again to fend for herself in a world where she is only valued for her uses to others.
Explanatory Note to the First Edition of Tess of the D'Urbervilles:
"In respect of the book's opinions and sentiments, I would ask any too genteel reader, who cannot endure to have said what everybody nowadays thinks and feels, to remember a well-worn sentence of St. Jerome's: If an offence come out of the truth, better is it that the offence come than that the truth be concealed."
Thomas Hardy, November 1891
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), English poet, dramatist, and novelist, was born on the Egdon Heath in Dorset. He studied in Dorchester and apprenticed to an architect before leaving for London, where he began to write. Unable to find a public for his poetry, which idealized the rural life, he turned to the novel and met with success as well as controversy. The strong public reaction against some of his darker themes turned him back to writing verse. Today several of his novels are considered masterpieces of tragedy.
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) (1936–2014) was a British journalist who changed careers to become a narrator and screen and stage actor. He performed in more than one hundred professional theatrical roles. His audiobook narrations were named “Audio Best of the Year” by Publishers Weekly, and he won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards, and in 2013 he won the coveted Audie Award for Best Mystery Narration for his reading of Louise Penny’s The Beautiful Mystery.
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Reviews
“Tess of the D’Urbervilles ranks as one of Hardy’s finest achievements.”
“Lushly drawn, so sympathetically conveyed…Evocative descriptions are underpinned by a gripping story of love, loss, and tragedy.”
“Ralph Cosham’s narration of Hardy’s classic English novel captures the essence of naïve Tess, a poor, beautiful country girl. With textured characterizations and a seamless narrative, Cosham depicts Tess’ seduction and betrayal by Alec, a country nobleman. Cosham’s English accent and polished performance render the society and customs of the 1800s with a vividness that brings them to life…Cosham delivers the timeless appeal of Hardy’s tragic story of seduction and abandonment.”
“The tragic story of a woman wronged by two men and by the harsh, repressive society in which she lives. Hardy’s most striking and tragic heroine, Tess is a woman of intense vitality and innate goodness and the author’s favorite character.”
“Now considered Hardy’s masterwork, [Tess of the D’Urbervilles] departed from conventional Victorian fiction in its focus on the rural lower class and in its open treatment of sexuality and religion.”
“Defiantly subtitled A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, the novel expresses Hardy’s rejection of the conventional heroine of Victorian fiction.”
“Hardy’s classic 1891 novel, about a young woman’s attempt at redemption following a scandal, demonstrates his fatalistic view regarding free will.”
“[Tess of the D’Urbervilles is] Hardy’s finest, most complex, and most notorious novel…The novel is not a mere plea for compassion for the eternal victim, though that is the banner it flies. It also involves a profound questioning of contemporary morality.”
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