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Jude the Obscure

By Thomas Hardy
Penguin Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Jude the Obscure follows the life of Jude Fawley, a working-class young man with aspirations for higher education and a better life. Set in Victorian England, the novel explores themes of social class, religion, and marriage, capturing Jude's struggles with societal expectations and his tumultuous personal relationships. Hardy's poignant narrative delves into the complexities of human disappointment and perseverance.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you enjoy novels that delve into themes of societal constraints and personal dreams, this story will resonate deeply. It explores the complexities of love, ambition, and despair, making it a poignant choice for readers who appreciate rich character development and introspective narratives. Hardy’s masterful storytelling provides a critical look at the societal norms of his time, offering a timeless reflection on human struggles.

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Moving to Christminster to work as a stonemason, Jude meets and falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead, a sensitive, freethinking "New Woman". Refusing to marry merely for the sake of religious convention, Jude and Sue decide instead to live together, but they are shunned by society, and poverty soon threatens to ruin them.

Thomas Hardy's last novel, Jude the Obscure is a fearless exploration of the hypocrisy of Victorian society, edited with an introduction by Dennis Taylor in Penguin Classics.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Jude the Obscure tells the story of Jude Fawley, a stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty from the world of Christminster privilege. He finds fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both have left earlier marriages.

Ironically, when tragedy tests their union, it is Sue, the modern emancipated woman, who proves unequal to the challenge. Hardy's fearless exploration of sexual and social relationships and his prophetic critique of marriage scandalised the late Victorian establishment and marked the end of his career as a novelist.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Jude the Obscure is lauded for its sublime style and is considered a masterpiece of tragic writing. T.S. Eliot praised its stylistic excellence, while Virginia Woolf regarded Thomas Hardy as the greatest tragic writer in English literature.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140435382

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 May 1998

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Edited by Dennis Taylor

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 364g

Pages: 528

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Best Sellers at Book Hero Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction Penguin Black Classics Penguin Books Penguin Classics Penguin Classics: General Fiction Thomas Hardy

About the Author

Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset in 1840 and became an apprentice architect at the age of sixteen. He spent his twenties in London, where he wrote his first poems. In 1867 Hardy returned to his native Dorset, whose rugged landscape was a great source of inspiration for his writing. Between 1871 and 1897 he wrote fourteen novels, including Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. This final work was received savagely; thereafter Hardy turned away from novels and spent the last thirty year of his life focusing on poetry. He died in 1928.

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