"Jude Fawley, an impoverished stonemason, aspires to the ministry and fails to fulfill the opposite expectations of the two women he loves in Victorian society." *** "Marriage, the Church of England, and the British university system all come under criticism in a story about two cousins who love each other and want to improve their lot in life." *** "In this haunting love story, a couple who have each fled a previous marriage find love and fulfillment...

Contains an authoritative text of a poor stone carver, Jude Fawley, who is torn between his dreams of a university education and the desires of his own carnal nature and also includes background information on the novel as well as Hardy's nonfictional writings and poems and comments by critics on his other works.