"An unabridged republication of the Wessex edition ... originally published in 1912"--Title page verso.
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
A ne'er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter's beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of tragic fiction. Hardy's 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading.