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Cover of Adam Bede by George EliotAdam Bede
Classic · Fiction, Classics, Literature

Adam Bede

by George Eliot
1859 · 860 pages · Fiction
58.5Must-Read
Score Classic
Critics' pick
≈ 22 hours to read · about 6 weeks at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

Adam Bede, a hardy young carpenter, loves the town beauty Hetty Sorrel blindly, while she dreams that the careless Captain Donnithorne will marry her, and all three are drawn into a triangle of seduction, murder and retribution.

Why it's worth reading

It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read.

You'll love it if you liked

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Good to know

It's a classic.

By the numbers

58.5Must-Read Score
  • Readers30 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Bestseller1 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Why it made the list

On the lists
Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read

Reads as

Moving

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

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Explore the best-of lists

All 47 best-of lists →
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 rankedClassic booksTop 25 · 924 rankedFantasy booksTop 25 · 504 rankedMysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 rankedPulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 rankedMemoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedScience fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedShort booksTop 25 · 172 ranked

Quick answers

Is Adam Bede worth reading?

Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,677 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 58.5 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is Adam Bede about?

Adam Bede, a hardy young carpenter, loves the town beauty Hetty Sorrel blindly, while she dreams that the careless Captain Donnithorne will marry her, and all three are drawn into a triangle of seduction, murder and retribution.

How long does it take to read Adam Bede?

About 22 hours (860 pages), or about 6 weeks at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after Adam Bede?

If you liked it, try Middlemarch by George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot or Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.