Adam Bede

In the rural village of Hayslope at the end of the eighteenth century, a carpenter named Adam Bede loves a pretty dairymaid, Hetty Sorrel, who dreams of a life far beyond the dairy. When Arthur Donnithorne, the young heir to the estate, notices her, his charm and attention turn Hetty's head, setting in motion a chain of events that will test the whole community. George Eliot's first full-length novel, Adam Bede (1859) is a richly detailed portrait of English country life, a story of love, pride, guilt, and the possibility of redemption. It is a book for readers who enjoy deep character study, vivid historical settings, and moral questions that linger long after the last page. This edition contains the complete text of the novel, a new introduction, a character guide, a summary of the story, an exploration of key themes, a glossary of period words, and discussion questions for readers, students, and book clubs.