Scenes of Clerical Life

Eliot's first novel is more like three short stories thematically linked through religious examination, female prerogative and compassionate love. A way for the budding author to control the plots without getting lost and yet while reading the assured prose one doubts that a possible outcome. Eliot......more

After reading Janet's Repentance I was compelled to read the first two stories and I think enjoyed them more because Eliot allowed more humour and gentleness, although the understanding and sensitivity she shows in her portrayal of domestic abuse in Janet's Repentance is very fine. Eliot's writing n......more

Granted, this isn’t probably as deserving of five stars as Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, The Mill on the Floss, or Romola (!), but it still gets the highest rating from me for its sheer delight, the charm of its Hardy-esque bucolic setting, and the undeniable emotional power and impact of George Elio......more

This debut novel by George Eliot (Marian Evans) — actually three novellas — was written in 1857, sometimes referred to as the Age of Religious Novels. Anthony Trollope wrote Barchester Towers in the same year. "Janet's Repentance" has unusual themes for a Victorian novel: domestic abuse and a female......more

Even George Eliot’s early efforts at fiction in these three stories are filled with such human emotion! She brought tears to my eyes with each story, though Janet’s Repentance is definitely my favorite of the three.......more