content: A few years back I was forced to read "Tess" for my English class. Nobody in my class could ever finish reading the book... only a few of us could ever even finish the Cliff Notes for it. Our Professor tried solving the situation by renting us the video, but all of us were fast asleep half an hour into it.Tess is a bimbo with no brain and an insult to women, yes, even at that time! This book is over-rated and should not be called a classic. If you really want to read good literature, read D.H.Lawrence, read Tolstoy, read evn modern classical writers like Achebe, but for crying out loud, do NOT waste your time and money on "Tess.."