The novel begins in the English countryside between the villages of Shaston and Marlott. John Durbeyfield is walking home and encounters Parson Tringham. John asks the parson why he has recently taken to calling him “Sir John,” and the parson explains that through genealogical research, he has discovered that the Durbeyfield family, while poor at the present, is descended from the ancient and aristocratic d’Urberville family. Parson Tringham considers this information simply a matter of historical interest, as the Durbeyfield family has no claim to anything and the family legacy has largely disappeared. However, after this conversation, John Durbeyfield calls for a horse and carriage to take him the rest of the way home, already feeling a sense of inflated self-importance.

Meanwhile, in the village of Marlott, John Durbeyfield’s beautiful young daughter Tess is celebrating the traditional May Day ritual with a group of girls and women from the village. When the group sees John Durbeyfield driving by in the carriage, they begin to laugh at him, but they stop when Tess defends him. The girls begin dancing on the village green, and three men who are passing by stop to look at them. The three men are brothers—Felix, Cuthbert, and Angel Clare—and are wealthier and better educated than the villagers.