Adam Bede

By: George Eliot

Narrated by: Jill Tanner

With an introduction and notes by Doreen Roberts, University of Kent at Canterbury

"Examine your words well, and you will find that even when you have no motive to be false, it is a very hard thing to say the exact truth, even about your immediate feelings...."

Adam Bede (1859), George Eliot's first full-length novel, marked the emergence of an artist to rank with Scott and Dickens. Set in the English Midlands of farmers and village craftsmen at the turn of the 18th century, the book relates a story of seduction issuing in "the inward suffering which is the worst form of Nemesis". But it is also a rich and pioneering record - drawing on intimate knowledge and affectionate memory - of a rural world that we have lost. The movement of the narration between social realism and reflection on its own processes, the exploration of motives, and the constant authorial presence all bespeak an art that strives to connect the fictional with the actual.

Public Domain (P)2016 Recorded Books

A wonderful classic

This story is a balm in our times. A slower pace of life, a deeper sense of right and wrong. Wonderful story, with exceptional narration.

Welcome time travel

Uplifting characters, stimulating vocabulary. A wonderful escape from unpleasant current affairs. Narration, particularly the use of the vernacular, absolutely wonderful.

Very good book

Great story although some passages were quite long (love the fast forward feature). The narration however was incredible! Every character was perfect!

Excellent

The main characters, all of whom you get to know in detail. The moving plot. The rapturous descriptions of the English countryside. Learning a lot about English village & farm lfe & customs &society & law in the early 1800s which is when this story takes place. A great writer. And a great performance by the actor who read this audio book.

The reflective passages and the religious references.

The old English dialects were difficult to understand sometimes, but I think it gave me a greater appreciation of the story.

wonderful book

I love George Elliott's writing. and this story was so very enjoyable I highly recommend it

A Very Good First Novel

I think George Eliot has become my favorite novelist of all time.

Her writing is sublime - characters, use of language, plot development, etc.

Middlemarch might be my favorite novel.

Adam Bede is well worth a listen. One can see all her skills showing and in formation. She has much growth to experience, but it is a fine effort, one that would make most novelists quite proud.

The reading is good, but not great.

Long - but very listenable!

I would occasionally have liked less lengthy description, but the language and turns of phrase are beautiful - and easily understood due to the excellence of the reader.

George Eliot’s brilliance

I found this novel even more engaging than her masterpiece Middlemarch although both shine with Eliots sharp perception of the human psyche and her brilliant and subtle sense of humor. Apart from its timeless value in drawing portraits of the characters, it also richly examines the mores and political thoughts of the day, all set within the farming community rather than high class society which ultimately can be a tedious read ( apologies to the Jane Austen afficionados)!

Difficult to understand the narration

This would probably be an enjoyable book. I have read others by George Elliott and thought they were excellent. I could not enjoy this one because the narrator, in an effort apparently to make it more realistic, used several different accents and dialect for the various characters, some of them are quite strong. I found it was a lot of work, listening to this book for that reason.