Silas Marner

This is the story of a linen weaver, Silas Marner, seeking asylum from wrong-doing at the hand of a jealous, once-trusted friend. Shunned by the only village he’d ever known, in his misery and strangeness Silas isolates himself, rebuffing the friendly overtures of new neighbors. Gold becomes his only consolation, until he receives the gift of true gold from a golden-haired child. George Eliot boldly embraces the common human conditions of betrayal, disillusionment, duplicity, pride, class distinction, religious ardor, loneliness, greed, selfishness, generosity, obsessive-compulsive thoughts, and finally, redemptive love, acceptance, and joy. A beautiful story, told simply but powerfully, with engaging, timeless characters types, it offers us wisdom for today.