Bones found at prison may belong to real-life Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Archaeologists’ discovery could be remains of Martha Brown, whose public hanging in 1856 was watched by Thomas Hardy

Archaeologists may have unearthed the remains of a woman whose execution had a lasting impact on the writer Thomas Hardy, inspiring the fate of one of his most beloved creations – Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
Excavators found the bones at Dorchester prison in Dorset, where a 16-year-old Hardy watched the public hanging of Martha Brown after she was convicted of murdering her violent husband.
Remains including a skull were uncovered at the prison – which closed in 2013 – ahead of the building of a housing development. The discovery has caused huge excitement among Hardy enthusiasts, who believe the bones may be those of Brown, whose hanging inspired Tess’s unpleasant end.

They are calling for work to be carried out to confirm who the remains belong to, and for them to be given a proper burial before work to build 190 homes and commercial units begins on the site.
Nick Gilbey, a Dorset-based film-maker and Hardy fan, said: “I don’t think it would be too difficult to establish if any of the remains are those of a woman. If they are, they are almost certain to be the remains of Martha.”
He said a full examination of the prison site should take place. “I think more work needs to be done, and we need to make sure that whatever remains are found there are given a proper, decent burial. Martha is an important historical figure because of the Hardy connection.”

More at:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/19/thomas-hardy-tess-of-the-durbervilles-bones-found-at-prison


Amazing after all these years!

Tess of the D'Urbervilles annoyed me a bit. She killed Alec because her husband came back - the one who deserted her for ages and left her to freeze and work on farms. She should have told Angel to sod off instead of killing Alec.

Then Angel went off with her sister after Tess was executed - he didn't even wait for five minutes.

Rags I agree - the whole book annoyed me but I'm not a Hardy fan.

Sassy would be very interesting if they are Martha's bones. Just like Richard III - lice a good historical mystery solved, like the last Romanovs. Now if we could only find Edward VI and his brother Richard.

Make some soup. lol

Cass wrote:Rags I agree - the whole book annoyed me but I'm not a Hardy fan.

Sassy would be very interesting if they are Martha's bones. Just like Richard III - lice a good historical mystery solved, like the last Romanovs. Now if we could only find Edward VI and his brother Richard.

I always think I'm a Hardy fan, but I must admit that a lot of his characters annoy me. The ones in Tess annoy me the most though, especially Tess herself.