First published 2009
Jude Fawley chips away at stone blocks in his workshop, but his mind reaches toward the distant spires of university towers. This bright young stonemason burns with scholarly ambition, yet his humble birth keeps those academic halls forever out of reach. Two women enter his life, each bringing her own hopes and demands. Jude struggles to meet their expectations while pursuing his dream of becoming a scholar. The rigid marriage laws of Victorian England trap him, while the class system blocks every path to advancement. His efforts to rise above his station collide with social conventions that crush individual desire. The women he loves become mirrors of his own impossible situation. Jude discovers that neither love nor learning can overcome the barriers that society has built around him. His story reveals how institutions destroy those who dare to want more than their assigned place in the world.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: class-conflict, impossible-love, social-climbing
Setting: England, University Towers
Period: Victorian Era
432 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Signet