Tess of the d'urbervilles, paperback/thomas hardy

Published in association with the Orange Prize for fiction, with an introduction by Fugitive Pieces author Anne Michaels, describing why she chose it as the book shed like to pass on to the next generation Tess is an innocent young girl until the day she goes to visit her rich relatives, the DUrbervilles.

Her encounter with her manipulative cousin, Alec, leads her onto a path that is beset with suffering and betrayal.

When she falls in love with another man, Angel Clare, Tess sees a potential escape from her past, but only if she can tell him her shameful secret.