Tess of the D'Urbervilles

This is not quite what I expected when I started this book. It has all the comforting quaintness you would expect from a classic romance, but the depth in which Hardy takes you into the characters beings is immense. He writes with such a simplistic depth, that you as the reader don't realize how deep into different elements you have gone until they have already trapped you and all you can do is read on. This is the first Thomas Hardy novel I have read and look forward to reading more of his work.