<human>: Give me the gist of the text in a nutshell

Keeping in mind that I love 19th century literature, and that Charles Dickens is my favorite author, here's the history of my relationship with Hardy: I read Tess of the d'Urbervilles my first semester of college and couldn't stand it.  Loved the writing - loved it! - but I felt no sympathy for Tess, especially after the ending.  3 years later, I read Far From the Madding Crowd and enjoyed it, (loved the writing! - and it wasn't quite as depressing...but I'm having trouble remembering it at the moment).  I just finished Jude the Obscure, recommended by a former undergrad professor because I'll probably be attending Oxford next year...and, bizarrely, I liked it just as much as Madding Crowd, maybe even slightly more so.
<bot>: Hardy's always frustrated me because I love his powers of description and poetic phrasing, but his worldview and relentless plots are generally too dark for life...but are still affecting.