Silas Marner

Yesterday, on my drive to Fairfax, I finished listening to Silas Marner, by George Eliot. The novel (published in 1861) is set in England in the early 19th century (like the novels of Jane Austen) and tells the story of a weaver (Marner) who loses his friends, the love of his life, and his religious faith due to a treacherous friend. He leaves the unnamed but apparently large city where he lived for the village of Raveloe, where he settles into a solitary life as a honest, miserly weaver and soon becomes preoccupied with his ever-growing hoard of gold.

The richest family in the town has two sons whose lives intersect with the weaver's in unexpected ways. The no-good younger son, desperate for money, steals the weaver's gold. Later, the depressed weaver finds and adopts a young girl after the death of her mother (an opium addict and the secret wife of the oldest son). The weaver becomes a father and learns, with help from one of the village's moms, to care for this new treasure. The oldest son marries the exceptionally good and beautiful young lady whom he truly loves. The younger son is never seen again.

The story of these people is a fascinating tale in which the love of others brings joy to those who despair and that reminds us that those whom we love are worth more than any hoard of gold.

George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, which led us one night into a discussion of famous authors who used pen names. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was the first that came to my mind. Wikipedia has a long list of pen names.