Adam Bede

Adam Bede was the first full novel by Marian Evans, under the pen name of George Eliot.  Evans had already been working for several years as assistant editor of The Westminster Review under her own name and had a solid but modest reputation as essayist and reviewer. But Adam Bede received wide acclaim and sparked great  interest in the identity of the mysterious author.  Surprisingly, an imposter stepped forward, forcing Evans to acknowledge that she was "George Eliot".    Her subsequent novels were all published under George Eliot -  "She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure her works would not be taken seriously."  No, wait - that they WOULD be taken seriously, she said.  (I wonder what she was thinking).  

Eliot is an insightful observer of humanity and nature and her insights are presented in fluent and memorable language.  The setting is rural and unsophisticated, but the interactions among the characters are timeless and fascinating.  All of the conversations, and particularly the repartee between Mrs. Poyser and any of her natural adversaries, feature lively rural expressions that vividly convey the essence of the issues under discussion.  Adam Bede tells the story of four intertwined lives and loves, centering on the carpenter Adam Bede, who is strong, skilled, upright, and true.  Very admirable, and likable, yet also rather rigid.  He bears some clear resemblance to Tom Tulliver from Mill on the Floss (reviewed in this Blog), who shares many characteristics with Eliot's brother, who bitterly disapproved of her "unconventional" marriage to philosopher George Henry Lewes.   Perhaps a theme of Eliot's is to show the far-reaching consequences of apparently minor acts and decisions that are determined, for better or worse, by elements of character.  This is a very readable, gratifying and rewarding book.