Adam Bede (version 2)

George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans – an ironic ‘deception’ given that Adam Bede, her first novel, is written unashamedly from a feminist standpoint.

The story centres on a pastoral love triangle. Two young men, carpenter Adam Bede and squire Captain Arthur Donnithorne, are both in love with the mercurial Hetty Sorrel. There’s a further love interest between Adam and beautiful lay preacher Dinah Morris.

The setting is a country village in the north of England in the last years of the eighteenth century. The author paints a wonderful landscape of contemporary life as it really was, and excels in the portraits of her characters. Each is flawed, each has their own passions, each is unique, and through this great novel, Eliot put her stamp on literature and on the way we view the vagaries of character, helping us to see people as they really are.

This is one of the greatest novels in the English language. First published in 1859, Adam Bede has never been out of print since, which speaks volumes about its timeless quality. - Summary by Tom Denholm

Genre(s): Culture & Heritage Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Book 1, Chapter 1, The Workshop Tom Denholm
00:23:52
Play 02 Chapter 2, The Preaching, Part i Tom Denholm
00:30:42
Play 03 Chapter 2, The Preaching, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:28:35
Play 04 Chapter 3, After the Preaching Tom Denholm
00:18:44
Play 05 Chapter 4, Home and its Sorrows, Part i Tom Denholm
00:24:08
Play 06 Chapter 4, Home and its Sorrows, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:20:46
Play 07 Chapter 5, The Rector, Part i Tom Denholm
00:20:12
Play 08 Chapter 5, The Rector, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:28:40
Play 09 Chapter 6, The Hall Farm Tom Denholm
00:34:42
Play 10 Chapter 7, The Dairy Tom Denholm
00:15:01
Play 11 Chapter 8, A Vocation Tom Denholm
00:23:02
Play 12 Chapter 9, Hetty's World Tom Denholm
00:20:06
Play 13 Chapter 10, Dinah Visits Lisbeth Tom Denholm
00:34:13
Play 14 Chapter 11, In the Cottage Tom Denholm
00:23:00
Play 15 Chapter 12, In the Wood Tom Denholm
00:33:48
Play 16 Chapter 13, Evening in the Wood Tom Denholm
00:15:35
Play 17 Chapter 14, The Return Home Tom Denholm
00:26:09
Play 18 Chapter 15, The Two Bed-Chambers Tom Denholm
00:39:28
Play 19 Chapter 16, Links Tom Denholm
00:37:18
Play 20 Book 2, Chapter 17, In Which the Story Pauses a Little Tom Denholm
00:28:47
Play 21 Chapter 18, Church, Part i Tom Denholm
00:32:10
Play 22 Chapter 18, Church, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:34:11
Play 23 Chapter 19, Adam on a Working Day Tom Denholm
00:19:22
Play 24 Chapter 20, Adam Visits the Hall Farm, Part i Tom Denholm
00:26:46
Play 25 Chapter 20, Adam Visits the Hall Farm, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:24:25
Play 26 Chapter 21, The Night-School and the Schoolmaster, Part i Tom Denholm
00:20:06
Play 27 Chapter 21, The Night-School and the Schoolmaster, Part ii Tom Denholm
00:23:18
Play 28 Book 3, Chapter 22, Going to the Birthday Feast Tom Denholm
00:30:43
Play 29 Chapter 23, Dinner-Time Tom Denholm
00:13:39
Play 30 Chapter 24, The Health-Drinking Tom Denholm
00:23:00
Play 31 Chapter 25, The Games Tom Denholm
00:23:34
Play 32 Chapter 26, The Dance Tom Denholm
00:31:15
Play 33 Book 4, Chapter 27, A Crisis Tom Denholm
00:32:52
Play 34 Chapter 28, A Dilemma Tom Denholm
00:22:44
Play 35 Chapter 29, The Next Morning Tom Denholm
00:23:25
Play 36 Chapter 30, The Delivery of the Letter Tom Denholm
00:37:36
Play 37 Chapter 31, In Hetty's Bedchamber Tom Denholm
00:28:33
Play 38 Chapter 32, Mrs Poyser 'Has Her Say Out' Tom Denholm
00:26:58
Play 39 Chapter 33, More Links Tom Denholm
00:19:25
Play 40 Chapter 34, The Betrothal Tom Denholm
00:13:10
Play 41 Chapter 35, The Hidden Dread Tom Denholm
00:16:57
Play 42 Book 5, Chapter 36, The Journey of Hope Tom Denholm
00:25:53
Play 43 Chapter 37,The Journey in Despair Tom Denholm
00:36:26
Play 44 Chapter 38, The Quest Tom Denholm
00:40:37
Play 45 Chapter 39,The Tidings Tom Denholm
00:22:12
Play 46 Chapter 40, The Bitter Waters Spread Tom Denholm
00:25:25
Play 47 Chapter 41, The Eve of the Trial Tom Denholm
00:15:20
Play 48 Chapter 42, The Morning of the Trial Tom Denholm
00:13:47
Play 49 Chapter 43, The Verdict Tom Denholm
00:21:54
Play 50 Chapter 44, Arthur's Return Tom Denholm
00:21:23
Play 51 Chapter 45, In the Prison Tom Denholm
00:32:14
Play 52 Chapter 46, The Hours of Suspense Tom Denholm
00:18:01
Play 53 Chapter 47, The Last Moment Tom Denholm
00:03:08
Play 54 Chapter 48, Another Meeting in the Wood Tom Denholm
00:27:16
Play 55 Book 6, Chapter 49, At the Hall Farm Tom Denholm
00:27:12
Play 56 Chapter 50, In the Cottage Tom Denholm
00:31:43
Play 57 Chapter 51, Sunday Morning Tom Denholm
00:35:11
Play 58 Chapter 52, Adam and Dinah Tom Denholm
00:25:16
Play 59 Chapter 53, The Harvest Supper Tom Denholm
00:37:16
Play 60 Chapter 54, The Meeting on the Hill Tom Denholm
00:16:04
Play 61 Chapter 55, Marriage Bells Tom Denholm
00:07:20
Play 62 Epilogue Tom Denholm
00:10:22