Tees of the D'Ubervilles

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THOMAS HARDY

Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d’Urbervilles

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TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES

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Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d’Urbervilles Adaptation and Activities by Silvana Sardi Illustrated by Valentina Malgarise

YOUNG ADULT

READERS

Tess of the d’Urbervilles

by Thomas Hardy Adaptation and Activities by Silvana Sardi Illustrated by Valentina Malgarise ELI Readers Founder and Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani, Daniele Garbuglia (Art Director) Layout Anna Biondini Production Manager Francesco Capitano Photo credits Shutterstock © 2020 ELI s.r.l.

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Contents 6

Main Characters

8

Before you read

10 Chapter 1

The Maiden

24 Activities 26 Chapter 2

Maiden No More

34 Activities 36 Chapter 3

The Dairy

46 Activities 48 Chapter 4

The Consequence

62 Activities 64 Chapter 5

The Woman Pays

80 Activities 82 Chapter 6

The Convert

94 Activities 96 Chapter 7

Fulfilment

104 Activities 106 Focus on...

Thomas Hardy

108 Focus on‌

Stonehenge

110 Test Yourself 111 Syllabus

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded start stop

MAIN CHARACTERS

Alec D’ Urberville Angel Clare

Tess Durbeyfield 6

Izz Huett

Marian

Retty Priddle

7

BEFORE YOU READ

Reading B1 Preliminary 1

Read about Tess of the d’Urbervilles and complete the text with one word for each space.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a story _____ about a young girl (1) _______ lives in a small village called Marlott with (2) _______ family. She’s (3) _______ very pretty girl, even (4) _______ she’s still too young to realise it. Her mother and father want (5) _______ to go and work for the d’Urberville family but Tess (6) ________ not like Alec d’Urberville and she’d (7) _______ find another job. However, in the end, she decides to do (8) _______ her parents want because she feels she must help her family. This is (9) _______ start of all Tess’s problems and the rest of the story shows (10) _______ this decision changes Tess’s life forever.

Vocabulary 2

Match the words from Chapter 1 to the correct description. Use a dictionary if necessary.

d maiden 1 ■ 2 ■ parson 3 ■ inn 4 ■ merchant 5 ■ lantern 6 ■ vault 7 ■ beehive

a a pub, sometimes with rooms to sleep b a kind of lamp c a room under a church d an unmarried girl e a person who buys and sells things f where bees make their honey g a man of the church

8

Writing / Speaking 3 In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy talks about country life. Discuss the following questions with a partner and write your answers.

1 Do you live in a city, a town or in the countryside? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 2 What do you like about the place where you live? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 3 Where would you like to live one day? Why? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 4 What is good and bad about living in a big city? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 5 What is good and bad about living in the countryside? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Listening 2

4 Listen to the start of Chapter 1 and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

The village of Marlott was four hours from London.

1 The story starts when it’s autumn.

2 Everyone saw Tess’s father riding on his horse.

3 Tess had a large red mouth.

4 The women and girls were going to dance in a field.

5 People from the village and strangers didn’t consider Tess’s beauty in the same way.

6 The three boys who stopped to look at the girls dancing all left after a few minutes.

T F 3 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■

9

Chapter 1

The Maiden

2 The village of Marlott, with its beautiful landscape of soft hills and

fields, lay in the Vale of Blackmoor, four hours from London. It was May Day, and the young girls and women were walking through the village dressed in white and carrying flowers. They were on their way to the field where there would be dancing to celebrate this special day. The younger girls were not used to everyone watching them and often kept their heads down to avoid all those staring* eyes. They passed The Pure Drop inn, and one of the older women shouted: ‘Tess Durbeyfield, there’s your father riding home in a carriage*!’

Tess, turned her head to see. She was a beautiful girl. There was something special about her – maybe her large innocent* eyes or her full, deep red mouth. She couldn’t believe it! Her father was riding in the carriage and waving to everyone while he sang: ‘I’ve-got-a-greatfamily-vault-in-Kingsbere.’ Everyone laughed except Tess.

‘I think he’s had too much to drink again,’ said the older woman.

‘That’s not true!’ shouted Tess. ‘It’s just that he’s tired and our horse needed a rest today.’

They soon reached the field where they were going to dance and Tess forgot about her father. At this time in her life, Tess Durbeyfield was a young, innocent girl, full of emotion*. Sometimes she seemed like a full-grown woman, while at other times, still a sweet, innocent child. Everyone in the village thought she was just a pretty, country stare look at something/someone for a long time carriage

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innocent (here) pure emotion strong feelings

tess of the d’urbervilles

girl. Instead, strangers to the place were attracted by her fresh beauty.

One particular stranger noticed Tess that day. Three young brothers, who were on a walking tour, stopped to watch the girls as they danced.

Soon, the two more serious elder ones, were ready to continue, but Angel, the youngest, wanted to dance.

‘Carry on,’ said Angel to his brothers. ‘I’ll catch up with* you in a minute.’

The other two left and Angel asked the first girl he saw to dance.

3 It wasn’t Tess Durbeyfield. Soon after, Angel realised it was time to go. As he was leaving, Tess looked at him in disappointment because he hadn’t asked her to dance. He felt disappointed too, but he really had to go. He ran up the hill and at the top, he looked back. Tess, the pretty girl he had noticed, was standing watching him. If only he had asked her to dance – but it was too late now and he put any thoughts of her out of his mind.

Tess Durbeyfield couldn’t forget Angel so easily. He had seemed so much nicer than the village boys. She continued dancing with the others but without feeling any great emotion. Then she remembered about her father and the carriage and decided to go home to see what had happened.

She lived with her family in an old cottage in the village. When Tess arrived home, her mother was singing to the baby and washing clothes in the main room. Tess felt sorry that she had left her to do everything while she had been at the May Dance. If you looked carefully, you could see that Tess had taken her beauty from her mother.

‘Tess, I must go and get your father, but first, listen to this,’ said Joan Durbeyfield excitedly. ‘You’ll never guess! Your father comes from a rich, ancient, noble* family called the d’Urbervilles with vaults and who knows what else! The parson told him today. Do you catch up with reach the same point as someone noble very important in society

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thomas hardy

remember the silver spoon we have with the castle on it? That’s from his noble family!’

The problem was that Jack Durbeyfield, a simple seller and a lazy man, hadn’t told his wife the whole story. The parson had also said that the d’Urbervilles had once been rich, but now the only thing that was left were the vaults where they were buried in Kingsbere.

‘I’m glad about that,’ said Tess slowly, ‘but will it help us, mother?’

‘Oh yes! Just wait and see!’ said her mother, excitedly.

‘Where’s father now?’ asked Tess suddenly.

‘Now don’t get angry, Tess,’ said her mother. ‘Today the doctor told the poor man that he must be careful or he could die any minute because of his bad heart. Then he got the good news from the parson, so he went to Rolliver’s inn half an hour ago to have a drink with his friends and tell them all about it. Then, after midnight, he needs to take all those heavy beehives to the market and it’s so far away … a drink with his friends will help him before such hard work.’

‘I don’t think that was a good idea,’ said Tess angrily, ‘and you let him go, mother!’

‘Well, actually I didn’t agree and I was waiting for you to arrive to look after your brothers and sisters so I could go and get him’, said her mother.

To sit with her husband in Rolliver’s inn for an hour or two was one of the few pleasures that Joan Durbeyfield had in her life. She left quickly before Tess could say anything else.

Tess and her mother were very different. Tess had been good at school. She knew things that her mother would never understand.

Two hundred years separated the way the two women thought. Her mother’s favourite book was The Complete Fortune-Teller. She had read it that day to discover Tess’s future.

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tess of the d’urbervilles

While Tess finished the washing, she chatted to her nine-year-old brother Abraham, and her sister Eliza-Louisa of twelve and a half.

Everyone called her ‘Liza-Lu’. The other children were already in bed.

Tess was four years older than Liza-Lu and the eldest of the family.

After Abraham, there were two girls, Hope and Modesty, then a boy of three and then the baby who was just one year old.

It was now late and Tess’s parents hadn’t come back, so Tess sent Abraham to the inn to tell them to come home. An hour passed and there was no sign of anyone, not even Abraham so Tess decided to go and get them herself. As she walked along in the dark, she didn’t know that her mother and father were deciding her future for her.

Joan Durbeyfield was talking excitedly to her husband, while Abraham sat on the stairs near his parents waiting for them to finish.

‘This noble family of yours,’ said Joan Durbeyfield, ‘I’ve heard that there’s a rich lady who lives near The Chase Woods called d’Urberville. She must be our relation and I think we should send Tess to tell her about us.’

‘Yes, of course!’ said Durbeyfield. ‘It’s right that the two branches of our family should meet.’

‘Indeed!’ agreed his wife. ‘Tess should go to this lady, and then she might meet a noble gentleman, who’ll marry her,’ continued his wife.

‘I read about her future in my book, today.’

‘Do you think Tess will agree?’ asked her husband. ‘You know, she’s strange.’

‘Leave her to me,’ said his wife. She had already decided that her daughter would go, if she liked it or not.

Just then, Tess arrived. As soon as they saw her, her parents finished their drinks quickly and left with her and Abraham. It was now eleven o’clock. If her father wanted to get the beehives to the market in

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thomas hardy

Casterbridge on time, he’d have to leave at two in the morning.

At half past one, Tess’s mother came into the room where she was sleeping with all her little brothers and sisters and said: ‘Tess, the poor man can’t go. Maybe we can ask a boy from the village to take the beehives to the market for us.’

‘Oh no! I’ll go if Abraham comes with me,’ said Tess quickly.

She didn’t want the whole village to know her father had drunk too much again. They woke up Abraham and Tess went out in the dark to get the horse and little old cart* ready. Then they started their long journey in the night.

Prince, their horse was even older than the cart. At first, they walked beside him so the cart was less heavy going up the hill. Once the road became flat, they jumped on the front of the cart and sat side by side, both holding the reins*. Suddenly, Abraham said: ‘Aren’t you glad that through our rich relation, you’re going to meet a gentleman and marry him?’

‘Who put those silly thoughts into your mind?’ asked Tess, surprised.

‘Mother,’ said Abraham. ‘I heard her talking to father about it while I was waiting for them at the inn.’

Tess suddenly became very still* and said nothing, but Abraham looking up at the stars, continued: ‘Tess, do you think the stars are worlds?’

‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘most of them good, but some bad, like the apples on our tree. If we were in a good world, father wouldn’t drink so much and mother wouldn’t have to wash so much,’ said Tess.

‘And would you already be a rich lady and not have to marry a gentleman to become one?’ asked Abraham.

‘Oh Aby, don’t – don’t talk about that anymore!’ said Tess.

Abraham was tired now, so Tess made some space for him in cart see page 17 reins

14

still not moving

tess of the d’urbervilles

the back of the cart among the beehives and he was soon asleep.

Although she didn’t usually drive the cart, she thought she could manage Prince since he was such an old slow horse. Everything was dark and silent now. Tess didn’t realise how tired she was and she soon fell asleep too. Suddenly, she was woken by something pulling on the reins.

The cart had stopped. They were much further along the road than Tess could remember before falling asleep. A deep groan* came from the front of the cart, then she heard: ‘Hey there!’ Someone was shining a lantern in her face. Tess jumped down from the cart and then she saw Prince. The poor horse had a piece of wood stuck under his neck. There was blood everywhere. While she was sleeping, her cart had crashed with the early morning post cart coming in the opposite direction. She tried to stop the blood by putting her hand over the hole – it was useless. Her father’s poor horse, Prince lay down and died.

The man on the post cart helped her take off the reins and said: ‘You were on the wrong side of the road. I need to take the post to town, but I’ll send somebody to help you. It’s almost daylight now, so you’ll be alright.’

The man went away and Tess stood looking at the horse.

‘It’s all my fault,’ she cried. ‘What will mother and father live on now? Aby, Aby!’ The boy, realising immediately how serious the situation was, started to cry too.

After some time, a farmer arrived and took them to Casterbridge with the beehives. Later, in the evening, the farmer took them and the dead horse back to Marlott. When they got home, Tess realised that her parents had already heard about the accident. They weren’t angry with Tess – nobody blamed Tess as much as she blamed herself. groan the sound someone makes when they are in great pain

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thomas hardy

Now that they didn’t have a horse, Durbeyfield found it more difficult to go about the country selling things as he had done before.

The fact that he was a lazy man didn't help and he did nothing to try and find another kind of job. Meanwhile, Tess wondered what she could do to help her parents. Then, one day her mother said: ‘This is the moment to use your high blood, Tess, if you really want to help your family. There’s a very rich Mrs d’Urberville living near The Chase Woods, who must be our relation. You must go there and tell her about our troubles.’

‘I’d rather try to get work,’ said Tess quietly.

‘Durbeyfield,’ said her mother turning to her husband who was sitting by the fire. ‘If you say she ought to go, she’ll go.’

‘I don’t like my children going and asking strange relations for help,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m the head of the noblest branch of the family.’

On hearing this, Tess felt even more to blame, so she said: ‘Well, as I killed the horse, mother, I suppose I ought to do something. I don’t mind going and seeing her and asking for help, but don’t think about finding a match for me – it’s silly.’

Joan Durbeyfield said nothing. She was satisfied for the moment that Tess had agreed to go.

Tess left early next morning. She had never travelled so far from home. First she got a lift in a cart for some of the way, then she continued on foot to The Chase Woods area where Mrs d’Urberville’s house, ‘The Slopes’ was. It wasn’t a farmhouse, where people worked the land, but an expensive country house, built only for pleasure.

The house was almost new and was a rich red colour. Simple Tess Durbeyfield stood and looked – she couldn’t believe her eyes – she had never seen anything so wonderful in her life, and at the same time she had never felt so scared as she did at that moment.

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tess of the d’urbervilles

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thomas hardy

‘I thought we were an old family, but this is all new!’ she said to herself. She wanted to go back home.

The d’Urbervilles – or Stoke-d’Urbervilles, as they had called themselves at first – were the owners of this place. They were an unusual family for such an old-fashioned part of the country. The parson had been right when he had said that John Durbeyfield was the only one left who really belonged to the old d’Urberville family. The Stoke-d’Urbervilles had just added the name onto theirs to seem more important. In fact, after working as a successful merchant, Mr Simon Stoke, now dead, had found the name d’Urberville in the British Museum, while looking for the name of a local noble family that no longer existed, to add to his own family name. However, poor Tess and her parents knew nothing about all this.

Tess was still standing looking at the house when a young man appeared in the garden. He had full red lips and a black moustache and was about twenty-four years old. He seemed very sure of himself and maybe even a bit cruel if you looked at his eyes carefully.

‘Well, my Beauty, what can I do for you?’ he said to Tess. ‘I’m Mr Alec d’Urberville. Have you come to see me or my mother?’

Tess was so surprised at first that she said nothing. She hadn’t expected to meet such a young Mr d’Urberville. She tried to keep calm and said: ‘I’ve come to see your mother, sir.’

‘I’m afraid my mother is unwell and my father is dead, so you’ll have to tell me your business,’ he said.

This was all so embarrassing for Tess, but at last, she said: ‘I came to tell you that we’re of the same family as you.’

‘Ah, poor relatives? Stokes?’ asked Alec.

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tess of the d’urbervilles

‘Yes, poor, but we’re from the d’Urbervilles even if our name has become Durbeyfield,’ said Tess.

Alec listened to her story about her family, where they lived, the dead horse, and how it was all her fault. Then he invited Tess to walk round the gardens with him. He found her very attractive and wanted her to stay as long as possible. Tess agreed even if she felt uncomfortable alone with this man. Alec stopped and picked a strawberry for her and insisted in putting it directly into her mouth.

He picked roses for her and put some in her hat – some in the V-neck of her dress. Then they had lunch together – just the two of them – Alec carefully watched how she moved her mouth, her hands, everything about this young innocent girl, who unfortunately for her, already seemed a grown woman. Poor Tess had no idea that this meeting would change the rest of her life – nobody had told her to be careful.

That evening Tess slept in a place called Shaston and arrived back home the following day. As soon as she entered her mother said: ‘I knew you’d manage!’

‘What are you talking about, mother?’ asked Tess, surprised.

‘I’ve had a letter. Mrs D’Urberville wants you to look after her birds and you can stay with her,’ said her mother happily, showing Tess the letter.

Tess looked at it for a moment. The writing looked more like that of a man's than of an old woman's, she thought.

‘I’d rather stay here with you and father,’ said Tess.

‘But why?’ asked her mother, disappointed.

‘I don’t know why,’ said Tess, quietly. She could feel tears coming into her eyes and turned and ran out of the room before her mother could say anything else. She was sure Alec D'Urberville had written

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the letter. The thought of him scared her, but she didn't want to disappoint her parents.

A week later, while Tess was out, Mrs d’Urberville’s son came and told Joan Durbeyfield how much he wanted Tess to start working for his mother. The woman couldn’t believe how lucky her daughter was to have the interest of such a handsome young man. Tess wasn’t so enthusiastic* and neither was her father. He wanted his children to stay at home, but he was also proud at the thought that Tess might marry into this great family one day.

‘I don’t know what to say,’ said Tess worried. ‘You decide. I killed the horse, so I suppose I ought to do something so you can buy a new one. It’s just that I don’t like the idea of Mr d’Urberville being there.’

The children started to cry on hearing that Tess might not go – her mother complained about how hard she had to work – so in the end Tess agreed to go.

A few days later Tess left, wearing her best white dress, the one she had worn on May Day – her mother had insisted on this.

Alec d’Urberville came for her in his new cart and rode fast along the roads. They went so fast downhill that Tess held onto the man without realising what she was doing. At the bottom of the hill, she pulled her arms away quickly. She was so embarrassed and angry that she didn’t know where to look. Another hill came and as they reached the top, Alec turned to Tess and said: ‘Put your arms around me as you did before, my Beauty.’

Tess was so angry that she didn’t answer him.

‘If you let me kiss you, I promise I won’t go fast this time,’ continued Alec.

‘But I don’t want anyone to kiss me’ said Tess, with tears in her eyes.

Alec d’Urberville started driving fast down the hill again. enthusiastic really happy about the thought of something

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tess of the d’urbervilles

‘Alright, you can kiss me,’ cried Tess, her eyes wide with fear.

He stopped the cart and kissed her on the cheek. Tess said nothing.

She felt so ashamed that she couldn’t look at him. She wished she could go home, but the job at The Slopes was waiting for her.

Tess soon got used to looking after the birds at The Slopes. Every day she had to take them to Mrs d’Urberville, who was blind, but the old woman recognised each of her birds by touching them. Like many mothers, Mrs D’Urberville loved her son, Alec, even if he was a difficult person to love.

Tess began to enjoy her new life, free from her family. She even felt a little more comfortable with Alec, who carefully won her trust by calling her ‘cousin’ and making her laugh.

Every Saturday night, the local country workers went to a market town, about two miles* away, to dance. Tess started to go with them. It was a nice change from looking after the birds all day long. One Saturday night in September, Tess arrived late and found her friends already dancing. By then, she was too tired to dance but she had to wait for the others to go home. One of the dancing couples fell and made others fall too. Tess heard someone laughing behind her. She turned and saw Alec.

‘Well, my Beauty what are you doing here?’

Tess told him that she was waiting for her friends to go home. He offered to take her home, but she still didn’t trust him enough, so she politely refused.

Shortly after, the others finally decided it was time to walk home.

Tess walked with them, but felt uncomfortable as they had all drunk too much and were laughing a lot. Tess laughed too, but one of the women in the group turned to her and said: ‘Don’t laugh at me! You think, you’re more beautiful than all of us, but you’re not!’ miles = 1.6 km

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Then the other women started to shout angrily at Tess too. They were all around her now. Suddenly, a man on horseback appeared – it was Alec d’Urberville. He shouted at the women and told Tess to jump up behind him onto the horse. This time Tess was so frightened that she did as he asked and soon they were riding far from the crowd of angry, jealous women.

‘Ha-ha!’ laughed one of the women, as she watched them ride away. ‘Out of the frying pan* into the fire!’

It was foggy now and Tess was so tired that at first she didn’t notice that they weren’t riding along the road home.

‘Where are we?’ she asked.

‘In Chase Woods,’ he said. ‘It’s the perfect night for riding.’

‘What?’ shouted Tess angrily. ‘Let me down, I’ll walk the rest of the way home!’

‘You’ll never find your way home from here in this fog, my Beauty,’ he said. ‘Indeed, I’m not even sure where we are, but don’t worry.

Promise me that you’ll wait here in the woods with the horse, while I go and look for a road or a house to understand where we are. Then when I come back, you can decide if you want to walk or ride home.’

Tess agreed, and Alec prepared a bed of dry leaves for her to rest on while she was waiting. Just before he left, Alec d’Urberville said: ‘Tess, I forgot to tell you… I sent your father a new horse today and some toys for the children.’

Tess thanked him but she felt uncomfortable and Alec noticed.

‘Tessy,’ he said. ‘Don’t you love me even a little bit now?’

‘I’m grateful,’ she said, ‘but I’m afraid I don’t….’ and she started to cry.

‘Don’t cry my sweet one!’ he said. ‘Here, put my jacket around you, it’s cold now. I’ll be back soon.’

When he came back, Tess was sleeping on the bed of leaves. He frying pan a pan for cooking something in hot oil out of the frying pan into the fire: from a bad situation into one that is worse

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lay down beside her. There were still signs of tears on her face. There was nobody around to protect this innocent country girl. From this day, Tess would change forever.

23

AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES

Stop & Check 1

Choose the correct answer, A, B or C about Chapter 1.

On May Day in Marlott…

A ■ everyone went on a trip to London.

3 the women wore white clothes.

B ■ C ■ all the men rode in carriages.

1 Tess Durbeyfield…

A came from a small family.

B wasn’t pretty at all.

C knew a lot more than her mother did.

2 Jack Durbeyfield…

A was a lazy man and drank too much.

B went to the market with Tess.

C wasn’t interested in his family history.

3 The horse, Prince, died…

A because the cart was too heavy.

B because he was very old.

C in an accident with the post cart.

4 Tess agreed to visit Mrs d’Urberville because…

A she wanted to find a husband.

B she blamed herself for Prince’s death.

C she wanted to escape from her family.

5 Mr Simon Stoke…

A had been a real member of the ancient, noble d’Urberville family.

B had added d’Urberville to his name to seem more important.

C had bought the old d’Urberville house in the country.

6 Alec d’Urberville…

A told Tess to go away.

B found Tess very attractive.

C felt embarrassed when he was with Tess.

7 At the end of the chapter, Tess decided to ride home with Alec…

A because she wanted to be alone with him.

B because she wanted to go for a ride in the woods.

C because she wanted to escape from the angry women.

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Grammar 2

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in the box.

take • be • think • wash • not realise • not ask • marry • not exist

Everyone in the village thought ______ Tess was just a pretty, country girl.

1 Tess was disappointed that Angel ____________ her to dance.

2 When Tess got home, her mother ____________ clothes.

3 Joan Durbeyfield hopes that one day, her daughter ____________ a noble gentleman.

4 Tess said she ____________ the beehives to the market instead of her father.

5 The noble d’Urberville family ____________ anymore.

6 Tess ____________ how dangerous Alec d’Urberville was.

7 The other women ____________ jealous of Tess’s beauty, so they shouted at her.

PRE-READING ACTIVITY

Listening B1 Preliminary 4

3

Listen to the start of Chapter 2 and complete the sentences with the words you hear.

Tess decided to go back home one Sunday ______ morning in October.

1 D’Urberville had driven fast up and down those same hills last ____________.

2 The ____________ hadn’t changed but Tess had, since the lesson she had learnt in the woods.

3 Alec d’Urberville offered to drive her the rest of the way in his ____________.

4 Tess wasn’t ____________ of d’Urberville anymore.

5 When Tess saw her ____________, she started to cry.

6 Tess hated herself because she had let d’Urberville ____________ her.

7 D’Urberville said that Tess didn’t have to work in the ____________ or dairies anymore.

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FOCUS ON...

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist* and poet.

In his books, he talked about everyday life but took great care in describing the emotions of his characters. He did not agree with many things about Victorian times, especially the changes that were happening to people living in the countryside, such as in southwest England where he was born. His most famous works include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895).

Historical Period The Victorian Era when Hardy lived was a time of great change.

During the time of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, England became the most powerful and richest country in the world with the Industrial Revolution and its colonies* abroad. People moved from the countryside to cities where there was more work and the population* grew. Working conditions* improved and all children had to go to school. English society changed too and people began to think in a different way about important things like the family, the church, and how social classes were divided.

Science became more important and Darwin wrote his book, The Origin of Species (1859) that made many people question what they had believed in until then.

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Hardy’s Life He was born in Dorset, situated in the middle of the south coast of England. His father was a local builder and his mother taught him at home until he went to his first school when he was eight years old. Hardy was clever at school, but his family didn’t have enough money to send him to university. Therefore, after leaving school, he went to work with a local architect* where he learnt all about this kind of job. In 1862, he moved to London and went to King’s College London University where he studied architecture. He became very successful in this field and won many prizes.

Hardy was never happy in London though,

because he felt he was a victim of the differences between social classes that he did not agree with. After five years, he returned to Dorset because he was worried about his health.

He decided to stay there and started writing.

One of the main themes* of his books is the social constraints*on people living in Victorian England. He did not agree with many of the opinions of that time especially about marriage, education and faith, that he said made people unhappy because they had to respect these ideas.

Wessex novels Tess of the d’Urbervilles is one of Hardy’s Wessex novels, because it is set in the Wessex region. This area used to be an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom and now includes Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset. Other Wessex novels include The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) and Jude the Obscure (1895). In each story, the main character suffers the consequences of a chain of events, like Tess, and has to fight against his or her passions and social condition. novelist a person who writes stories colony a country or area controlled by another nation population all the people who live in a particular place condition the quality of something

architect a person who draws the plan of a building theme idea constraint control

Task Complete this form about Thomas Hardy.

Place of birth Father’s job His first job Most famous books Main theme of his books

1 ___________________________________ 2 ___________________________________ 3 ___________________________________ 4 ___________________________________ 5 ___________________________________

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FOCUS ON...

Stonehenge

The monument and site Stonehenge is probably the most famous prehistoric monument in the world. This ring of huge standing stones is in Wiltshire, southern England and is part of a site with one of the most important Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, that also has hundreds of burial mounds* called tumuli. Archaeologists believe that it was built between 3000 BC and 2000 BC. The circular earth bank* and ditch* around the stones were the first parts to be built and date back to about 3100 BC, while the first stones were probably put in place between 2400 and 2200 BC. Stonehenge and the area around became part of UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986.

Stonehenge – Books, Films and TV Stonehenge has appeared in many books, films and TV series. Tess in Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles is sleeping on one of the big stones when she is caught by the police. This is the symbolic ending of Tess’s tragic story where her love for Angel brings her to her death, as she can no longer fight against all the events that have changed her life. The sci-fi film Transformers – The Last Knight (2017) also has a part set in Stonehenge. The Doctor Who, TV series, has a lot of action set in Stonehenge too. Stonehenge is therefore a favourite setting for stories full of mystery.

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Why was it built?

Since Stonehenge was built at a time when there were no written records, it is difficult to say for sure, how and why it was constructed.

Some believe that the position of some of the stones shows that it was built to study the sun, moon and stars. Indeed, the northeastern entrance of the monument matches the direction of the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset. There is also a lot of mystery about how it was built. The stones are so big and heavy that many people say there was no way that humans at that time could bring these stones to the site and put them into position. Therefore, some people have suggested that supernatural methods were used, or that people from another planet who came to visit Earth built Stonehenge. Some archaeologists believe that in the beginning, Stonehenge was built as a burial ground since many human bones, found in the ditch and bank, date back to 3000 BC. It was probably used as a burial ground for about 500 years. This ring-shaped bank with the ditch inside is often called a henge, so this, together with the circle of stones is probably where Stonehenge got its name from. By studying the area around burial mound a man-made hill of earth and stones under which people are buried earth bank a piece of land that is higher than its surrounding area ditch a narrow channel dug at the side of a road or field, to hold or carry away water

the circle of stones, it is now believed that Stonehenge was joined to Durrington Walls, a large Neolithic settlement*, by paths and the River Avon. It has been suggested that Durrington was a place of the living while Stonehenge was the resting place for the dead. Therefore, a journey along the River Avon to reach Stonehenge was part of a passage from life to death. This spiritual* idea is strengthened by the fact that the position of the stones could tell when an eclipse* or other astronomical* events were about to happen. Others believe that Stonehenge was built as a symbol of peace that brought people together. If you hit the stones, they make a special ringing noise. Indeed these kinds of stones are often called ‘ringing rocks’ and were used to call people together, like the way church bells are used. settlement a place where people decide to live spiritual not belonging to the physical world strengthen make stronger eclipse for example, when the moon passes in front of the sun and it becomes dark

Task - Internet Search Have a look on the Internet and find out more about Stonehenge - new discoveries - what events were held there in the 20th century - what tourists can visit today

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TEST YOURSELF Choose A, B or C to complete the sentences about Tess of the d’Urbervilles Tess first saw Angel at…

A the May Dance.

B the dairy.

C in Kingsbere.

1 After what happened to Tess in the woods…

A Tess wanted to marry B Tess decided C Alec d’Urberville Alec d’Urberville. to go home. told Tess to go away.

2 When Tess’s baby was ill…

A her father baptized him.

B the parson C Tess baptized baptized him. him.

3 Talbothays dairy was…

A small.

B a few miles C far from south of Marlott. Kingsbere.

4 Angel Clare’s father was a parson in…

A Emminster.

B Marlott.

C Kingsbere.

5 Angel…

A had gone to university.

B wanted to be C hated social a parson. differences.

6 The youngest of the girls that worked with Tess at the dairy was…

A Retty Priddle.

B Marian.

C Izz Huett.

7 Angel’s parents liked Tess better when they heard she…

A was like Miss Mercy.

B came from C went to church a good family. every Sunday.

8 Before getting married, Angel and Tess…

A left the dairy.

B visited Angel’s C went shopping parents. in the nearest town.

9 After Tess told Angel about her past…

A they went to Brazil B she went home. C Angel told his together. parents everything about her.

10 When Tess decided to go to Emminster, she had been married to Angel…

A for a year.

B for six months. C for nine months.

11 Tess recognised Alec d’Urberville when she saw him…

A talking to Angel’s father.

B preaching C having breakfast in a barn. in an inn.

12 When the men arrived at Stonehenge to take Tess away…

A she tried to run away.

B she cried.

C she said she was ready.

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SYLLABUS Level B1 This reader contains the items listed below as well as those included in previous levels of the ELI Readers syllabus.

Verb Tenses Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple Verb Forms and Patterns make / let + infinitive Verb + object + infinitive (e.g. I want you to help) Reported speech with say, ask, tell Phrasal verbs had better passive forms Modal Verbs can / could might would rather should must / have to used to would (past habits) Clauses Time clauses introduced by when, while, until, before, after‌ Clauses of purpose First and second conditional Clauses of concession (although, though)

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YOUNG ADULT

READERS

STAGE 1

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

STAGE 2

William Shakespeare, Hamlet Prince of Denmark Charles Dickens, Great Expectations William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Bram Stoker, Dracula William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat John Buchan, Thirty-Nine Steps

STAGE 3

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Oscar Wilde, Th<e Picture of Dorian Gray William Shakespeare, Macbeth Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White Anonymous, Beowulf Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped Elizabeth Ferretti, The Earthkeepers Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles

STAGE 4

James Joyce, Dubliners Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Henry James, The Turn of the Screw Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights Edgar Allan Poe, Stories of Mystery and Suspense Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda Hermann Melville, Moby Dick George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss Jane Austen, Emma Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter E.M.Forster, A Passage to India

STAGE 5

Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

STAGE 6

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness J. Borsbey & R. Swan, Editors, A Collection of First World War Poetry Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

YOUNG ADULT

READERS LIGHT

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Natsume Soseki, Botchan