Hardy heroine (4)

I believe the answer is:

tess

'hardy heroine' is the definition.
(in Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy novel)

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for tess that I've seen before include "Hardy's pure woman" , "Thomas Hardy girl" , "Lady" , "Hardy female" , "'Justice' finally done on her (Hardy)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun, the King Feature Syndicate, The Wall Street Journal and The Irish Independent.

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