Tess

Author: Hardy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: The main part of the following story—slightly revised—was published in The Graphic; several chapters, originally written for adult readers, were also serialized in The Fortnightly Review and The National Observer. The editors and proprietors of these publications allowed me to reunite the torso and limbs of this novel as they were two years ago, and I am grateful to them all. I would only like to add that the author has introduced this novel with complete sincerity, attempting to present a series of real events in an artistic form; as for the opinions and emotions in the book, they merely express the thoughts and feelings of the present time. If any overly refined reader cannot tolerate these, I must ask him to remember St. Jerome's old saying: If truth offends, it is better to offend than to bury the truth. The book includes chapters such as: A Pure Maiden, After Losing Her Virtue, Reviving Spirit, Bitter Fruit, Women's Hardships, A Wayward Return, and Fulfilling Functions.