Thomas Hardy wrote the book in 1981 as a serial in a British newspaper and later put together in book form. Amazon describes the plot as, "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." Tess is raped by a nobleman, loses her child, and then is spurred by her true love when he discovers she isn't pure - after they have been married and he was no virgin either. It doesn't end well for anyone.
The film was originally done in 1913 then again in 1924. The film was tried again in 1952, 1959, and 1998.
South African Waddell (The Fall) played Tess in the 1998 tv movie. Englishman Flemyng (Snatch) played the rapist. All in all, I say: SKIP IT
In 2008, It was remade as a mini-series.
Arterton (Prince of Persia) played Tess. Redmayne (Les Miserable) played the man she loved. Scotsman Matheson (Sherlock Holmes) played the rapist. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - it was slow and the acting not so good. Masterpiece theatre attempted a version in 2009 - yuck.
So, I've come to the conclusion that since none of them are worth seeing that it's because the book is not worth reading. It has to be the writing. All in all, I say: DON'T READ IT.
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