
Adam Bede
by George Eliot
'Adam Bede' Summary
According to The Oxford Companion to English Literature (1967),
"the plot is founded on a story told to George Eliot by her aunt Elizabeth Evans, a Methodist preacher, and the original of Dinah Morris of the novel, of a confession of child-murder, made to her by a girl in prison."
The novel follows four characters' rural lives in the fictional community of Hayslope—a rural, pastoral, and close-knit community in 1799. The novel revolves around a love "rectangle" among the beautiful but self-absorbed Hetty Sorrel; Captain Arthur Donnithorne, the young squire who seduces her; Adam Bede, her unacknowledged suitor; and Dinah Morris, Hetty's cousin, a fervent, virtuous and beautiful Methodist lay preacher.
Adam, a local carpenter much admired for his integrity and intelligence, is in love with Hetty. She is attracted to Arthur, the local squire's charming grandson and heir, and falls in love with him. When Adam interrupts a tryst between them, Adam and Arthur fight. Arthur agrees to give up Hetty and leaves Hayslope to return to his militia. After he leaves, Hetty Sorrel agrees to marry Adam but shortly before their marriage, discovers that she is pregnant. In desperation, she leaves in search of Arthur but cannot find him. Unwilling to return to the village on account of the shame and ostracism she would have to endure, she delivers her baby with the assistance of a friendly woman she encounters. She subsequently abandons the infant in a field but not being able to bear the child's cries, she tries to retrieve the infant. However, she is too late, the infant having already died of exposure.
Hetty is caught and tried for child murder. She is found guilty and sentenced to hang. Dinah enters the prison and pledges to stay with Hetty until the end. Her compassion brings about Hetty's contrite confession. When Arthur Donnithorne, on leave from the militia for his grandfather's funeral, hears of her impending execution, he races to the court and has the sentence commuted to transportation.
Ultimately, Adam and Dinah, who gradually become aware of their mutual love, marry and live peacefully with his family.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1859Authors

George Eliot
England
Mary Ann Evans known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she...
Books by George EliotDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

Lettres persanes - Tome premier by Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu
Les Lettres persanes est un roman épistolaire du XVIIIe siècle, où Montesquieu utilise la perspective de deux voyageurs persans, Usbek et Rica, pour c...

Journal of A Residence On A Georgian Plantation, 1838-1839 by Frances Kemble
Fanny Kemble was a British actress who married mega-plantation owner, Pierce Butler of Georgia. During her marriage she kept journals of everyday life...

Self Help; with Illustrations of Conduct and Perseverance by Samuel Smiles
Published in 1859, *Self-Help* is a non-fiction work that explores the principles of personal success through hard work, perseverance, and ethical con...

A Popular History of the Art of Music by W.S.B. Mathews
Preface by W.S.B. Mathews: I have here endeavored to provide a readable account of the entire history of the art of music, within the compass of a sin...

History of Japan In Words of One Syllable by Helen Ainslie Smith
'History of Japan In Words of One Syllable' is a simplified account of Japan's history, spanning from ancient times to the late 19th century. Written...

Autobiography of Goethe Volume 2 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe's *Autobiography*, a two-volume work, offers an intimate and insightful chronicle of his life and experiences, spanning from his youth to his m...

Warriors of Old Japan, and Other Stories by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Warriors of Old Japan is a collection of stories featuring members of the Samurai - the warrior class of old Japan, rendered into English by Yei Theod...

In Old Narragansett by Alice Morse Earle
In Old Narragansett is a historical account of the Narragansett region of Rhode Island, written by Alice Morse Earle. The book covers the period from...

Americans All, Immigrants All by U. S. Department of the Interior Office of Education
The United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education partnered with the Columbia Broadcasting System to present a series of 26 dramatic r...

Bachelor Girl in Burma by Geraldine Edith Mitton
Bachelor Girl in Burma is an intriguing travelogue that chronicles the experiences of Geraldine Mitton, an unmarried woman in her early 30s, as she jo...
Reviews for Adam Bede
No reviews posted or approved, yet...