Adam Bede Resources

A society for scholars, readers, and other proud Eliotians, Eliotites, Eliotists? What is the word for someone who loves George Eliot? These people must know.

An outstanding resource on Victorian authors, culture, and literature. Yup: that includes Ms. Eliot.

There've been almost 40 biographies of Eliot. (With literary biographies, there can never be only one.) So let's see what the critics are saying about Nancy Henry's book.

Don't have time to read a George Eliot biography of Adam Bede-ian proportions? Check out the following overview of Eliot's life and writing.

Our fine friends at Librivox have read, recorded, and released every chapter of Adam Bede. The book's fifty-odd chapters have been divided among a bunch of readers. You won't get bored by any one voice, but you will get a top-quality, easy-to-use audiobook—and for free. Not a bad deal.

This video clip may be a bit amateurish—or, to be honest, flat-out amateur. But Hetty's a bit of an amateur, prancing around in her "finery" and dreaming of wealth. So it fits. And one way or another, it's a funky, playful look at Hetty's ideal world, amateurism and all.

First of all, yes, that is a zombie on a horse in the background. Apparently somebody used video game graphics (and mumbly dialogue) to create a condensed version of Adam Bede. It's not a bad summary, amazingly. And if you don't mind seeing a ninja or two wandering around, this clip might put a smile on your face.

Turns out somebody made Adam Bede into a silent film back in the day. Weird thing to do with a novel where everyone talks so much, but we like ideas that just might be weird enough to work beautifully—like this one.

At 102 minutes, this BBC adaptation isn't as mind-numbingly long as it could be. Why not give it a chance, with its bonnets and short pants and old-timey dialogue and everything else?

Still trying to figure out what Eliot's characters look like? Even if you're not, this collection of Adam Bede images might be worth a gander.

Here are some sketches of the woman behind Adam Bede, Middlemarch, and other gargantuan books.