Ourdeedscarrytheirterribleconsequences...consequencesthatarehardlyeverconfinedtoourselves.’PrettyHettySorrelislovedbythevillagecarpenterAdamBede,butherheadisturnedbytheattentionsofthefickleyoungsquire,ArthurDonnithorne.Hisdalliancewiththedairymaidhasunforeseenconsequencesthataffectthelivesofmanyintheirsmallruralcommunity.Firstpublishedin1859,AdamBedecarrieditsreadersbacksixtyyearstothelushcountrysideofEliot’snativeWarwickshire,andatimeofimpendingchangeforEnglandandthewiderworld.Eliot’spowerfulportrayaloftheinteractionofordinarypeoplebroughtanewsocialrealismtothenovel,inwhichhumourandtragedyco-exist,andfellow-feelingisthemainstayofhumanrelationships.Faith,inthefigureofMethodistpreacherDinahMorris,offersredemptiontoallwhoarewillingtoembraceit.ThisneweditionisbasedonthedefinitiveClarendoneditionandEliot’scorrectedtextof1861.
