Adam Bede

Adam Bede, George Eliot’s debut novel published in 1859, is set in the rural English village of Hayslope in 1799 and vividly portrays early 19th-century provincial life among carpenters, farmers, and laborers. The story centers on Adam Bede, a principled and hardworking carpenter in love with the beautiful but vain Hetty Sorrel, who falls prey to the charms of Arthur Donnithorne, the youthful squire whose seduction leads to tragedy, remorse, and a trial for child murder. Amid themes of love, morality, social class, and redemption, Hetty’s cousin Dinah Morris, a devout Methodist preacher, offers compassion that influences the outcome, while Adam finds eventual solace in a union with Dinah, highlighting Eliot’s exploration of human folly and forgiveness in a close-knit community.