wessex (england)

Presents the classic story of Tess, a young woman who finds herself the victim of men, fate, and forces beyond her control in nineteenth-century England, and includes a history of critical commentary on the novel, and five analytical essays.

Gabriel Oak, in love with the beautiful heiress Bathsheba Everdene, waits patiently while she works her way through the hearts of local men.

Contains an authoritative text and provides source materials, selections from Hardy's autobiography relevant to the novel and to his views on fiction, and critical selections.

aBathsheba Everdene arrives in Weatherbury to receive her inheritance and attracts three suitors.

Contains an authoritative text of a poor stone carver, Jude Fawley, who is torn between his dreams of a university education and the desires of his own carnal nature and also includes background information on the novel as well as Hardy's nonfictional writings and poems and comments by critics on his other works.

Clym Yeobright, tired of Paris city life, returns to Egdon Heath to open a school. There he marries a pleasure-loving girl and tragedy follows.

Presents the annotated text of "The Mayor of Casterbridge," a novel about a man whose past misdeeds come back to haunt him after he rises to a position of wealth and power; and includes articles on backgrounds and contexts, as well as seventeen critical essays.