Adam Bede

By: George Eliot

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

George Eliot's first full-length novel is the moving, realistic portrait of three people troubled by unwise love.

Adam Bede is a hardy young carpenter who cares for his aging mother. His one weakness is the woman he loves blindly: the trifling town beauty, Hetty Sorrel, who delights only in her baubles—and the delusion that the careless Captain Donnithorne may ask for her hand.

Betrayed by their innocence, both Adam and Hetty allow their foolish hearts to trap them in a triangle of seduction, murder, and retribution. Only in the lovely Dinah Morris, a preacher, does Adam find his redemption.

Addressing questions of morality and the role of women in society, Adam Bedeexplores the dangers of relying on religious and social norms to govern destructive desires.

(P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Adam Bede has taken its place among the actual experiences and endurances of my life.”

“A first-rate novel.”

“Adam Bede was Eliot’s first long novel. Its masterly realism—evident, for example, in the recording of Derbyshire dialect—brought to English fiction the same truthful observation of minute detail that John Ruskin was commending in the Pre-Raphaelites. But what was new in this work of English fiction was the combination of deep human sympathy and rigorous moral judgment.”

Warren S

I have heard it said that it is easier for novelist to write about vicious characters than it is to create a virtuous character who is believable. George Elliot has created in Adam Bede and Dinah Morris two virtuous characters who are also complex. Thus, George Eliot, like her fellow, Victorian novelist, uses this novel as an occasion for the reader’s reflection and moral improvement of his character. Nadia May’s Nelly masters the heavy northern dialect that George Elliot commits to print. Therefore, this is one of the finest performances I have listened to. if you like, Victorian novels, this one is not to be missed.

The exceptional character development.

Nadia May is a wonderful performer; I have several books read by her and and her range is unsurpassed.

Amazing Narration

Maybe not surprisingly because this was Eliot's first novel, I had a few complaints about the pacing and about the resolution of some plot lines. But the prose was always beautiful and it was overall an interesting enough story to be worth the time. And, oh my god, Nadia May's narration! So good. All the voices were very distinct, all the accents and verbal mannerisms wonderfully captured. May also was always right on the mark with tone, hitting everything from the sometimes droly ironic narration or humorous dialog to the most tense scenes with just the right inflection. If you're thinking of reading Adam Bede, definitely give this audiobook a shot. Way better than slogging through the phonetically written dialect of the original text.

A heart wrenching and heart warming classic beautifully read

So beautifully read. Amazing how relatable George Elliott’s 18th/19th century characters can be. It’s her ability to put into words the internal workings and wrestling of her characters’ hearts, minds, and souls. And always a good history lesson included.

Worth a credit, wow

George Eliot was such an amazing writer, and Nadia May is one of my very favorite narrators. I’ll definitely listen to this again