Silas Marner (1861) is a short novel by George Eliot. A linen weaver, falsely accused of theft and driven from his community, lives as a miser in the village of Raveloe until a little girl wanders into his cottage and gives his life a new meaning.
The story
Accused of theft by his chapel congregation in a northern town, Silas loses his friend, his fiancée and his trust in others. He settles in Raveloe, where he weaves alone and hoards gold.
When his gold is stolen, he is desperate. Then, on New Year's Eve, a golden-haired child, Eppie, toddles into his cottage after her mother dies in the snow, and he decides to raise her.
The secret father
Eppie's real father is Godfrey Cass, the squire's son, who keeps his secret marriage hidden and later marries Nancy Lammeter.
When, years later, Godfrey reveals the truth and asks for Eppie, she chooses to stay with Silas.
A fable
Eliot called the story a legendary tale. It has the simplicity of a fable, with a realistic portrait of village life before the industrial age.
For generations it was one of the Victorian novels most widely read in schools, in Britain and in America.
Anecdotes
A vision of a weaver
Eliot said that the idea came to her from a childhood memory of a linen weaver with a bag on his back, a figure of the lonely outsider.
Steve Martin's version
The 1994 film A Simple Twist of Fate, written by and starring Steve Martin, transposes the story to modern America.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Eppie?
The little girl who comes into Silas's cottage and whom he raises as his daughter.
Who is Eppie's real father?
Godfrey Cass, the squire's son.
Where is the novel set?
In the village of Raveloe, in the English Midlands.