Thomas Hardy' s final literary masterpiece, Jude the Obscure is the story of Jude Fawley, a poor stonemason living in rural Wessex, whose dreams of becoming a scholar are complicated by an ill-fated romance with his spirited cousin, Sue Bridehead. Jude and Sue' s attempts to defy social conventions for the sake of their love lead to misery, heartache and tragedy. Greatly concerned with the destructive rules of marriage, the novel openly criticizes Victorian society, religion and education, and modern critics hail Jude the Obscure as a pioneering work of feminism and socialist thought.

Jude the Obscure scandalised critics upon its publication in 1895, leading to Hardy' s decision to only produce poetry and drama for the rest of his writing life. It has been adapted twice for film, and remains one of Hardy' s most widely-read novels.

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