A country gentleman returns one night to his isolated and unforgiving home with a gypsy child tucked under his cloak. Treated as an animal, the child Heathcliff grows up twisted and wild. But he and the daughter of the house, Catherine, are inseparable and love each other like they were one being. When they grow up and Catherine wishes to enter the society which Heathcliff cannot, the lives of everyone around them are destroyed in the rending.

Thomas Hardy's novel of seduction and abandonment introduced his most memorable tragic heroine, the unworldly maiden Tess. On her morning journey to earn money for her impoverished family, Tess' horse has an accident, forcing her to seek assistance from some newly rich relatives. There, she is vigorously pursued by Alec, who corners her in a field one night and takes advantage of her. After bearing a child who quickly dies, Tess meets and falls