Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, Fiction, Classics in Bloomington, MN

There's a tale that goes around even now regarding Thomas Hardy -- that is, that the reaction of readers to one of his novels was so intense -- and so disturbing!
-- that he swore off novels and spent the rest of his life committing poetry. Well, the story is true, the way it happens and this is the book responsible: Jude the Obscure.