Silas Marner: George Eliot

Silas Marner (1861) is Eliot's classic tale of an outsider. A weaver who comes to live and work alone in the Midlands village of Raveloe, Silas Marner's sole pleasure is to count his growing hoard of gold. When it is stolen, his life ceases to have meaning - until Eppie wanders into the weaver's cottage one snowy New Year's Eve and falls asleep on his hearth. Eppie is two years old.

Silas rears the little girl with friendly help from the villagers and she loves him as a father. Then, after sixteen years of contentment, Eppie's true background comes to light.