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    Silas Marner
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    Silas Marner
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    Silas Marner
    Ebook259 pages5 hours

    Silas Marner

    By George Eliot

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    About this ebook

    Silas Marner is a member of a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, a slum street in an unnamed city in Northern England. He is falsely accused of stealing the congregation's funds. Two clues are given against him: a pocket-knife and the discovery of the bag formerly containing the money in his own house.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStart Publishing LLC
    Release dateDec 28, 2012
    ISBN9781625585820
    Author

    George Eliot

    George Eliot was the pseudonym for Mary Anne Evans, one of the leading writers of the Victorian era, who published seven major novels and several translations during her career. She started her career as a sub-editor for the left-wing journal The Westminster Review, contributing politically charged essays and reviews before turning her attention to novels. Among Eliot’s best-known works are Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, in which she explores aspects of human psychology, focusing on the rural outsider and the politics of small-town life. Eliot died in 1880.

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    Reviews for Silas Marner

    4/5

    1,344 ratings68 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Silas Marner is a strong and lovely little tale, with a blessed departure from all the tedious and repetitive society conversationsand obsessions which overruled the intriguing characters and stories of both MIDDLEMARCH and The Mill on the Floss.A happy ending was totally unexpected and welcome.
    • 2/5
      Combines wordiness with sappiness.
    • 3/5
      Re-read 9/20/17. Still meh. Reads more like a church parable than a story with interesting characters. Compelling to read but unsatisfying in the end. One too many bows put on the mysteries. Maybe I should give it two stars instead of three.
    • 2/5
      Simplistic.
    • 4/5
      Still wonderful, a grownup child's story.
    • 3/5
      Read half. Just too laborious at the wrong time. Don't want to pick it back up now, nearly two years later.
    • 5/5
      In Silas Marner, George Eliot has crafted a heartwarming fable woven with incisive commentary on religion, community and the true meaning of wealth. The title character starts out as a faithful member of a religious commune, poised to marry the love of his life. He soon finds himself framed for theft and is exiled from the community. Betrayed, disillusioned and heartbroken, Marner settles on the edge of a faraway village. He becomes a hermit, finding solace in counting his precious stash of gold coins each night. He interacts with the outside world only as required to sell the cloth he weaves and accumulate more gold. But fate intervenes in Marner's life once (well, twice) more. He is forced to engage with the village community, and the rest of the story follows his resulting growth and redemption.Though the material is more simple than that of her larger works, Silas Marner still showcases Eliot's masterful (but admittedly dense) literary style, signature social commentary and humanist beliefs. Her keen observation of human nature helps her writing speak to readers hundreds of years and thousands of miles distant. I heartily recommend Silas Marner to all lovers of literature. Due to the book's modest length, it is especially suited to someone looking for a taste of Eliot's work but who may not have the time or patience to take on Middlemarch. Or the world-weary intellectual looking for an uplifting, fairytale-like story to restore their faith in humanity.
    • 4/5
      Classic 1861 novel about a socially outcast weaver who adopts a child, and the country squire's son who keeps her true parentage secret. Like many novels of this time period, it's pretty wordy for the amount of actual story, but it's a pleasant read, with a warm message about what really makes a family. And George Eliot's writing displays a very keen eye for the details of human nature.
    • 4/5
      I've been going through the classics lately and don't have much good to say from them. This is the first so far that I can say that I liked. I think it's my modern perspective looking at it to think this, but I think it could have been much shorter. The first half, at least, of the book seemed to be too drawn out and didn't seem to connect things till much later in the story. I see all the connections now but I don't see that it was needed to put so much detail in it. I also like the fact that Eppie didn't want to have money. Most of the characters I have run into so far in older books, namely (and clichely) Pride and Prejudice, have wanted almost nothing but money and material wealth. But Eppie loved Silas and her way of life and didn't want to change. That made me appreciate the book much more.
    • 3/5
      Dickenesque plot, lots of sentiment and melodrama. It contained a lot of social commentary that made it preachy and outdated. More relevant as a historical document; though I would think that the author's class background would make her "insights" into working class values and mores less valid.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I've ever read. Eliot has a great insight into the human mind. Very touching.
    • 5/5
      beautifully written
    • 2/5
      A hundred years later, still an assigned reading in many high schools. This copy has the names of students of "M. H. S." in 1923 and 1925.: Mary Elizabeth Blew and Surer Colson, who were juniors in 1925 and 1923, respectively.
    • 4/5
      One of the only books I read for school that I actually liked.
    • 4/5
      Loved this story. Heartwarming. Examines the issues of parenting, real love, possessiveness and a good mystery to boot.
    • 5/5
      Set in the early 19th century, Eliot's narrative accurately features the lifestyle, values and traditions of the period. Ethics, religion and the industrial revolution all play a part in this beautiful story. I realize it is not to everyone's taste but I find the old-fashioned language is a delight, describing the actions and feelings of the characters so beautifully.
    • 2/5
      Interesting writing, but extremely predictable story. The opening chapter or two were awful! It would have been so much entertaining (and would have given the reader a better sense of Marner's character) had Eliot fleshed out the exposition. It was so interminably dry that I dreaded reading the rest of the book. Fortunately, it picked up and there were some quite lovely passages to come (the water jug impressed me in particular). I couldn't help but think that had this been written by Dickens, it would have been much more enjoyable, but about 2-3 times longer.
    • 3/5
      This was quite a sad tale in the beginning, as Silas through no fault of his own ends up having to leave his home town & travel far away to Raveloe, where he takes up his weaving, & becomes wealthy in the bargain, until Dunstan, the ne'er do well second son of Squire Cass breaks in to his home, & steals the hoard of gold that Silas' hard work has built up. Later on, Silas finds Eppie, who is "sent to" him after she wanders in to his home through his open door deep one winter night when her opium addicted mother passes out under a bush & dies not far from Silas' home. How these events are tied to the Cass family is kind of convoluted, but it all turns out well in the end.Very sweet tale!
    • 3/5
      A story of redemption. Eliot teaches a simple lesson: When we let go of the goods we get the gold. Simplistic but real. Love is the answer.
    • 4/5
      It took me a little bit of time - and concentration - to settle into the story. I found Eliot's writing style to be a wordy and probably better suited for reading than listening to (especially if you are like me and tend to multi-task while listening to an audiobook!) Silas Marner is one of those classic tales that runs the gamit of tangible loss, disenfranchisement with society and seclusion of sorts until fate one day gently opens the door and presents a possible path towards a new beginning: A life of redemption and the re-discovery of what it means to love (and we don't mean a continuation of love of worldly possessions!) Eliot does a fantastic job playing sociologist, presenting 19th century England with its class structure (via the squire), rural/ small village life and the ever present role of religion and 'village values' in guiding the population through life. For me, the first 1/3 of the book was pretty much 'ho-hum'. The story started to make its mark on me during the Christmas festivities and that was when I settled in and really was able to enjoy this story for the tale it is.
    • 5/5
      This is a great story and a good introduction to George Eliot. She really captures the characters of the English countryside. She can capture their accent on the written page.
    • 5/5
      I love this book about a bitter man finding his happiness in a golden haired child rather than his gold.
    • 3/5
      My first George Eliot, author number 2 in mission 'let's try some Victorian fiction after all.' Author number 1 was Trollope. It's hard to imagine two more different experiences than this and my first Trollope, The Warden.

      Eliot really should have been born in the 20th century. She might have been one of the greatest sociologists of all time: great imagination, great ability to sum up the social changes of modernity, great ability to see ancient parables in modern settings. All good. I'm ambivalent, though, about her prose. It manages to be convoluted (whereas Trollope, for instance, is straightforward) and not particularly attractive (whereas Austen before her and James after her might have been complicated, but generally very pleasant to read). That's fine for 200 pages, but I'm worried that it'll make Middlemarch a bit of a slog. Nonetheless, I'm willing to try on the basis of Silas.

      I also see that many people were forced to read this in high school. One day teachers will realize that it's better to teach long, clearly written books to teenagers than to pick short books by 'classic' authors. I hope that day is before my kids hit high school.
    • 4/5
      I liked this for lots of reasons that didn't relate to the plot or the execution of the plot: namely, for historical details about weaving (that one person in a village would have a loom set up in their house and would take in spun flax from the rest of the villagers and would turn it into cloth for them), about relative isolation of villages (that Silas Marner could seem like a complete otherworldly alien, not merely because of his profession, but because he came from over the hill and far away, and that you could have Dissenter villages, such as the one SM grew up in), for portrayal of drug addiction back in the 19th century (Godfrey's first wife), and for portrayal of a single, working parent--and a father at that--bringing up a child. That last part I found fascinating, though in terms of percentage of the story, it occupied a very small portion. Silas Marner must find a way to keep his adopted daughter Eppie out of harm's way while he's weaving. He ties her to the loom at one point; at another point he puts her in something like a high chair or a playpen. He also has to deal with disciplining her; he can't bring himself to mete out corporal punishment, and the thing he hits on as a replacement, on the recommendation of his solicitous neighbor, Eppie turns into a game. These details struck me as so realistic and charming! As did this portrait of toddler Eppie, who's wandered off one day:
      The meadow was searched in vain; and he got over the stile into the next field, looking with dying hope towards a small pond which was now reduced to its summer shallowness, so as to leave a wide margin of good adhesive mud. Here, however, sat Eppie, discoursing cheerfully to her own small boot, which she was using as a bucket to convey the water into a deep hoof-mark, while her little naked foot was planted comfortably on a cushion of olive-green mud. A red-headed calf was observing her with alarmed doubt through the opposite hedge.

      As for the story itself, and its execution. . . It bewildered me slightly. George Eliot spent an awful lot of time (from my perspective) on things like SM's early years in his first village, and his being falsely accused of a crime there--I understand why *some* time needs to be spent on that, but it felt like a lot to me--and on things like the pub scene, which seems to be there just to establish local color, or on the ladies talking together prior to the squire's ball. These were all interesting in their own right, but for me, they also bogged down the forward motion of the story. I liked the time spent in Godfrey's head. He was such a weak-willed guy, so capable of lying to himself and taking the easy way out, and George Eliot showed that perfectly. I wasn't as persuaded by her portrait of SM in his gold-hoarding days. I could accept what she was telling me about SM, but I didn't believe it viscerally. (Whereas, his transformation and his desire to parent Eppie--all that I did believe.)

      In the end, I thought this was a very engaging story, but not in the ways that GE probably intended me to find it engaging, and it failed (somewhat) in engaging me in the ways I think she intended it to be engaging. But still, I liked it very much. For psychological portraits, and for an interesting glimpse into history--and for the surprising single-male-parent angle--I think it's an excellent story.
    • 4/5
      required reading in middle school. Pretty sentimental tale of a miser and his redemptive love of a child.
    • 4/5
      I read this in high school, but somewhat haphazardly. I appreciated it more when I was in the process of reading all Eliot's books, which I eventually did--even Scenes from Clerical Life, which I managed to find, in two volumes, at a Library used books sale in 2012--acquried on the last day of the sale, when the books were free!
    • 4/5
      A short and appealing novel about the life and misfortunes of the title character, betrayed by his best friend and fiancee and finding new life elsewhere where he meets new challenges and joys. This has interesting things to say about the influence of religion over people's lives and how different people find fulfillment in different things in life. Early on there are also some good humourous scenes between two brothers, whose actions both before and during the action of the novel affect Silas's life in different ways. 4/5
    • 3/5
      Digital audiobook read by Nadia MaySilas Marner is a weaver who was banished from his small religious community on a false charge of theft. He moves to the village of Ravensloe, where he leads a reclusive, miserly life as the town’s weaver. His gold is stolen from him, however, reinforcing his belief that everything is against him. Until … returning home on a snowy evening he finds a baby girl asleep at his hearth. Her mother has died in the snow, and Silas adopts the child, believing that his gold has somehow been symbolically returned in the form of this delightful little girl.A classic tale of the redemptive power of love, first published in 1861. As is typical of the novels of the era, the plot includes numerous coincidences that stretch this reader’s tolerance. There is much misery, but Eliot does give us a few moments of joy, and an ending full of hope. I did think Eliot was somewhat heavy-handed in relaying her message, however. I know this was assigned reading when I was in high school, and I’m sure I relied on the Cliff’s Notes. Reading now, I’m reminded of the writing style of Charles Dickens. Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans and converted to Evangelicalism while still in school. She later disavowed it, but those roots are clear in this tale. In private, however, she became estranged from her family when she moved to London as a single woman. There she met George Henry Lewes, and lived with him for some twenty years, despite the fact that he was already married. He encouraged her to write and publish. She was somewhat notorious for this open relationship and felt no one would read her novels, so adopted the pseudonym of George Eliot. Nadia May does a fine job performing the audiobook. However, I did have trouble staying focused. That isn’t her fault, it’s simply the prevalent style of writing of the mid-19th century.
    • 4/5
      Silas Marner by George Eliot was originally published in 1861 and I think this book has withstood the march of time remarkably. Silas Marner is a weaver who comes to the village of Raveloe as an outsider never quite fitting in. He spends much of his time alone with his only comfort being the gold that he has saved and now hoards. When his money is stolen he is left anxious and confused. But he rescues an orphan child whose mother perished in a snowbank, and, with the help of the villagers he raises this child with care and love. Eppie, the child grows into a beautiful young woman but when the local quarry’s water levels go down, a body is revealed and alongside the body is Silas’ gold. This body is that of the local squire’s never-do-well brother who not only stole the gold but was also blackmailing his older brother who had entered into a marriage with a barmaid. The woman who perished in the snowbank was that lower class wife and the squire has known that Eppie is his daughter all this time. When he finally reveals this to his wife and they decide to claim Eppie for their own, they realize that they have left it too late as Eppie will have no parent but Silas.With his gold restored to him, and Eppie entering into a happy marriage, the book ends with Silas realizing that money is best used to improve life rather to to be hoarded and worshipped. While the squire sadly realizes that he has lost his chance at fatherhood by ignoring his daughter when she needed him. Overall an interesting morality tale that I thoroughly enjoyed. I read this book through installments from Daily Lit and the story certainly held my attention through all 70 segments.
    • 4/5
      A book you haven’t read since high school is on the list for the 2016 Reading Challenge.Synopsis: A young weaver, Silas Marner, is betrayed by his best friend and subsequently leaves his home to find a place to live near a small village. Although he is prosperous, he exists as a poverty stricken hermit with no real friends. One night he is robbed and although this puts him in a more sympathetic light with the townspeople, he goes into a deep depression. During one of catatonic episodes, a two year old girl toddles into his home and changes his life for the better. The mystery of her parentage and of the disappearance on Marner's money are eventually solved.Review: There are huge portions of this story that I'd forgotten since the days in Betty Swyers's classroom. Although the language of the 1800s tends toward verbosity, Silas Marner is much less dense that Middlemarch, one of Eliot's other books. The 'truth will out' and the relentless progression of time are two of the main themes of the story, although unlike many writers in this same time period, the happy ending adds a touch of pleasant finality to Eliot's tale.