Silas Marner

As a young man, Silas Marner shut himself off from the world after being wrongly accused of theft and losing the girl he loved. Much later in life, the lonely, embittered weaver experiences two jolting events: he is robbed of his meager hoard of gold and he becomes the guardian of Eppie, a little orphan girl who makes her way to his cottage one wintry night. Eppie grows into a charming young woman who cares for the alienated Silas, helping him find love and hope in his life. First published in 1861, this classic English novel by George Eliot (pen name of Mary Anne Evans) is widely admired for its brevity and perfection of form. It has also long delighted students of literature and general readers alike with its masterly portrait of moral and psychological behavior in Victorian England, and with its mystery, intrigue, and heartwarming denouement.