Tess of the dUrbervilles by Thomas Hardy

This book was published in 1891. It is the story of Tess Durbeyfield, the oldest daughter of John and Joan Durberfeild. They are a poor uneducated family. One day John finds out that he is of noble blood, and comes from a family named dUrbervills. This is the very sad story of how Tess was sent to live with a wealthy widow that is supposed to be her rich Aunt. John and Joan hope that she marries her cousin, bringing the family out of poverty. She is taken advantage of by her cousin, and her life goes down hill from there. This is the story of her struggles. It is a very sad story, but I enjoyed the book so very much.