Tess of the D'Urbervilles

One of British literature's masterpieces, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is the Romantic story of the unhappy love of the eponimous protagonist that is victim of the prejudices of Victorian England and turns into drama. The "pure woman faithfully presented" is despised by society after she is callously seduced, the victim of double standards in an age that prized forms over subtance. First published in 1891, it was the subject of countless adaptations into movies, theatre plays and even an opera.