Robert Powell stars as Jude Fawley in this faithful and uncompromising BBC adaptation of one of Thomas Hardy's most bitter and controversial novels.
Born into poverty, young Jude refuse to accept his lot in life. He dreams of the nearby spires of Christminster and longs to attend its great universities to better himself. But Victorian England is a society in which everyone has their place - and Jude's place is to work as a stone carver. As one by one his dreams are shattered, Jude lashes out at the world around him and soon his life begins its descent into tragedy.