Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

You have to prepare yourself if you're going to read this one.  I'm going to spoil everything for you and tell you that yes, it is a tragedy, and no, it doesn't end well (which is, I suppose, the definition of tragedy . . . ).  But somehow knowing that at the outset helped me, because I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen and how much worse it could get.   I could hardly put it down--and I'm afraid I ended up absolutely loving it!  And of course being completely frustrated with half the characters . . . I could actually sympathize with my husband's complaints of the lack of communication skills in my British movies.  I don't think I'll be showing him this one.

Like Dickens, I can see why Hardy felt compelled to write about the social ills of his day.  And like Dickens, I have to admit that Thomas Hardy is a wonderful author.  He gets into the minds of the characters so thoroughly--the hardest thing for me was that he kept saying, "Had he said such-and-such, she never would have etc. etc. etc."  All the more tragic!  I admit that I wept for Tess more than once (and once at the gym--why do I always hit the sad parts while I'm exercising?).  Although this book was originally met with outrage, I thought it taught a very poignant lesson about purity, chastity, and respect for women--one that at the time was much-needed and is probably needed even more today.