Hardy's family members were primarily orthodox Christians and Hardy himself considered entering the clergy, as did many of his relatives. Hardy was largely influenced by the Oxford movement, a spiritual movement involving extremely devout thinking and actions. Tess of the d'Urbervilles deals with several significant contemporary subjects for Hardy, including the struggles of religious belief that occurred during Hardy's lifetime. Nevertheless, the novel was commercially successful and assured Hardy's financial security. Upon its publication, Tess of the d'Urbervilles encountered brutally hostile reviews although it is now considered a major work of fiction, the poor reception of Tess and Jude the Obscure precipitated Thomas Hardy's transition from writing fiction to poetry. The novel questions society's sexual mores by compassionately portraying a heroine who is seduced by the son of her employer and who thus is not considered a pure and chaste woman by the rest of society. It was finally published as a novel in December of 1891. He began the novel in 1889 and it was originally serialized in the Graphic after being rejected by several other periodicals from July to December in 1891.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles was the twelfth novel published by Thomas Hardy. Tess of the d'Urbervilles, like the other major works by Thomas Hardy, although technically a nineteenth century work, anticipates the twentieth century in regard to the nature and treatment of its subject matter.

Tess d'Urberville by Thomas Hardy