About this title: Inspired by an anecdote told to George Eliot by her aunt, ADAM BEDE is notable for its extraordinarily realistic characters and convincing depiction of English rural life, complete with the earthy Derbyshire dialect of the title character. It is the story of Hetty Sorrel, the dairymaid who spurns the working-class Adam, a carpenter, for the faithless lord of the manor, and is abandoned by him after she becomes pregnant. When it was first published, in 1859, the book earned praise for its nuanced and unflinching description of a young woman's fall from grace and for Adam's simple righteousness ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Reprint. Complete and unabridgd
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Pocket Books
Date Published: 1956
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Ex-library; only library marking = stamp facing title page; ffep has a name sticker/year inscribed; pages tanning; 529 p.; Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. Very nice copy: straight and tight "Unparalleled in English literature for its splendid, living picture of rural people and places, ADAM BEDE is considered George Eliot's masterpiece. " Originally published in 1859. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780451525277ISBN:0451525272
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has minor wear, pages are unmarked. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 510 p. Signet Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: 1956 ed
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Pocket Library, New York (NY)
Date Published: 1961
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Shows slight cover-, edge-, wear. 'Tanned'. NO stains, tears, writing, in tight book. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 529 pp. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780140431216ISBN:0140431217
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Everyman's Library-J. M. Dent & Sons
Date Published: 1966
Description: Good. Good condition used paperback with some cover wear. Great reading copy! May have the previous owner's name inside front cover. read more
"This started out painfully slow, but it grew on me. I found the religious revival opening very interesting. I also had to wonder if girls really cried at the least provocation back then. It drives me crazy what crybabies they appear to be in literature of this period. I didn't think much of the plot and there was some way too obvious foreshadowing. There were also some really beautiful nuggets of wisdom and quotable quotes. My favorite character was Seth, who I found to be very long-suffering and entirely overlooked. I couldn't stand Mrs. Bede. I find it very distasteful when parents are so overt with their favorites. Also I thought she behaved more like a jealous girlfriend than a mother. I would love to write more but can't without marking this a spoiler. This book is a little like The Scarlet Letter meets Tess d'Urbervilles, only far less depressing."
"I originally ranked this as a 4 star novel, because: 1) many many glorious sentences 2) ultimately a good story (and relatively rare to find a woman like Hetty treated as anything other than a one dimensional object in Victorian lit) 3) some very funny moments (I'm a sucker for snark) 4) George Eliot
But in the end, I cranked it down to three, because: 1) too much exposition, including a few too many odes to the English peasant 2) slow start 3) I find the character of Seth Bede to be fairly unbelievable.
"Not a fast moving book, and the emphasis is based very much on how the characters feel and less about what happens. Eliot's understanding of human nature, their faults and virtues, is impressive and you feel as if you are living with these characters and sharing in their triumps and sorrow.
It takes an investment of time, it has taken me about twice as long to read this book as it would a modern book of this length. The dialog is at first very difficult to follow, but it is worth sticking with it as I got the hang of it within the first few chapters.
The edition I read included some history in the appendices - a small passage on the inspiration of the novel from Eliot, and a passage about the real-life occurance which inspired the character of Hetty.
If you've never read a classic before, this might not be the one you should start with. But if you are up for the challenge this is well worth reading."
"A great book about love and forgiveness. I was reading on a cruise ship with dozens of people around and I still cried toward the end (if I'd been alone in my room, I would have been SOBBING). It was so heart-wrenching and I found myself feeling sympathy and pity for characters I previously didn't care for. I love how Adam truly learned the meaning of forgiveness. My only complaint is that I wish Seth's fate had been different. I really liked his character.
"It's no use meeting to say more hard words, and it's no use meeting to shake hands and say we're friends again. We're not friends, an' it's better not to pretend it. I know forgiveness is a man's duty, but to my thinking, that can only mean as you're to give up all thoughts o' taking revenge: it can never mean as you're t' have your old feelings back again, for that's not possible. He's not the same man to me, and I can't feel the same towards him." -Adam
"Arthur's white hand was in Adam's large grasp in an instant, and with that action there was a strong rush, on both sides, of the old, boyish affection...The hands were clasped once more, and Adam left the Hermitage, feeling that sorrow was more bearable now hatred was gone. ""
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