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Title: Mum's the word, says Victorian novelist.
Review: A question that often appears in agony aunt columns relates to the age old dilemma of telling, or not telling, your spouse about an affair with another. Hardy comes down firmly on the side of keeping it quiet. Tess, with excellent intentions, but misguidedly, spills the beans and comes to a sticky end. As her mother says, she is a 'little fool', though a very disingenuous one, to be sure. But there is much more to this book than that.I first read this book about 40 years ago and have revisited it a few times. It is an immensely powerful, brilliantly written, witty, devastating critique of Victorian morality, religion, and sexual hypocrisy that even today is immensely moving.If Hardy has a weakness, it is in the plotting of his novels, and you have to admit that perhaps there are one too many coincidences, but this is a small quibble.This is one of the greatest of all novels. To me it is right up there with Anna Karenina, so I have to give it five stars.
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