A working-class orphan with aspirations for a university education, Jude Fawley is nothing if not ambitious. However, his class and economic situation drive him into a career as a stonemason, rather than to fulfil his scholarly leanings.
It is a loveless marriage that finally propels him to pursue his dreams and find new love, but although his life follows a path that is dotted with joy, his ultimate fate is to suffer.
