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Tess of the D’Urbervilles --- by Thomas Hardy Brief Introduction to Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy 1840-1928 , novelist and poet, is one of the representatives of English critical realism at the turn of the 19th century. He was born in Dorset, a southern county of England, which he called Wessex in his books. His father, a builder himself, wanted him to become a builder. From an early age he was bound apprentice to an architect. At the age of 22, Hardy went to London, where he studies architecture and philosophy. On his return to his native countryside in 1867, hardy worked as an architect for several years. His first attempt at literature proved successful. So he gave up architecture and made literature his profession. Hardy wrote prodigiously. His principal works are the Wessex novels, i.e. the novels describing the characters and environment of his native countryside. The prototype of Wessex is his hometown --- Dorchester. “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” and “Jude the Obscure” could be regarded as the summit of Hardy’s realism. Both novels were given a hostile reception by the bourgeois public. The malicious criticism discouraged Hardy to such an extent that he ceased writing novels. At the end of the nineties, almost at the age of sixty, Hardy turned entirely to poetry. He achieved great mastership in the field of philosophical lyrics. Hardy’s works: Under the Greenwood Tree 1872 Far from the Madding Crowd 1874 The Return of the Native 1878 The Mayor of Casterbridge 1886 Tess of the D’Urbevilles 1891 Jude the Obscure 1896 2. The characteristics of Hardy’s works Most of Hardy’s works depict the country life of the southern counties of England. In many of his novels he uses the name “Wessex”. Strong elements of naturalism, combined with a tendency towards symbolism are found in Hardy’s novels. Three types of Hardy’s novels: 1 character and surrounding novels 性格