Mrs. Higgins, who was an elderly widow, 'well left', reflected with complacency that Mrs. Parrot's observation was no more than just, and that Mrs. Jennings very likely belonged to a family which had had no funerals to speak of." Barton and Milly become acquainted with Countess Caroline Czerlaski. When the Countess' brother, with whom she lives, gets engaged to be married to her maid, she leaves home in protest. Barton and his wife accept the Countess into their home, much to the disapproval of the congregation, who assume her to be his mistress. The Countess becomes a burden on the already stretched family, accepting their hospitality and contributing little herself. With Milly pregnant and ill, the children's nurse convinces the Countess to leave.

George Eliot’s writing style and narrative techniques in “Scenes of Clerical Life” are characterized by a deep understanding of human nature and a keen observation of social dynamics. Eliot’s prose is rich and descriptive, often using vivid imagery to create a sense of place and atmosphere. Her characters are complex and multi-dimensional, with their inner thoughts and emotions often revealed through their actions and dialogue. The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton’ is the sketch of a commonplace clergyman, the curate of Shepperton, unpopular with his parishioners, who earns their affection by his misfortune—the death from overwork, childbearing, and general wretchedness of his beautiful gentle wife, Milly. Captain Anthony Wybrow – nephew and heir of Sir Christopher, who has gone to considerable trouble and expense to ensure that the estate will pass to Wybrow, rather than his mother, Sir Christopher's sister. He is an extremely good-looking young man, compared by Eliot to Antinous, but selfish and shallow. He suffers from "palpitations". Having encouraged Tina's affections, he feels them to be a "nuisance" once he is engaged to Miss Assher, and cannot understand why the two women find it difficult to get on with each other. If you do not want us to use your data for our or third parties you will have the opportunity to withhold your consent to this when you provide your details to us on the form on which we collect your data.It is apt to be so in this life, I think. While we are coldly discussing a man’s career, sneering at his mistakes, blaming his rashness, and labeling his opinions--’he is Evangelical and narrow’, or ‘Latitudinarian and Pantheistic’ or ‘Anglican and supercilious’--that man, in his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because his sacrifice is a hard one, because strength and patience are failing him to speak the difficult word, and do the difficult deed.

Simply beautiful stories in a prose style that is both dense and poetic but also extremely readable. Each story has a long, drawn-out build up, and a couple of times I was confused by the timeframe or narrative point of view. Otherwise I found them gorgeous, dense, and moving, and I loved all three. Eliot’s writing is emotive and evocative, drawing the reader into the story and making them feel the pain and heartache of the characters. The themes of love, sacrifice, and societal expectations are explored in depth, making “Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story” a timeless classic. ‘Janet’s Repentance’Eliot, George (October 1856). "Silly Novels by Lady Novelists". Westminster Review. No.66. pp.442–61. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. PDF First editions, complete as issued. A handsomely bound library set comprising all of Eliot's novels, two short stories, one poetry collection, one volume of her posthumously collected essays, and the three-volume biography by her husband J. W. Cross. One of the major novelists of the 19th century and a leading practitioner of fictional realism, George Eliot (1819-1880) was "the most extensively anthologized novelist among her contemporaries. Her writing evinces a strong belief in progress, which for her meant the gradual improvement of the world through difficult, often imperceptible human effort, sometimes characterised as meliorism. Her biographer Kathryn Hughes calls her the 'last Victorian' because she thought it possible to face the crises of her time without 'shattering in shards'" (Orlando). From 1868 through 1879, bookbinder Samuel Tout (1841-1902) operated in Nassau Street in Soho, London. He then worked in a bindery in Whitechapel with William Coward, continuing on his own after 1880. Tout was also a member of the early staff of Karslake's Hampstead Bindery, which opened in Charing Cross in 1898. Baker & Ross A3.2, A4.1; A5.1.a1, A6.1.a, A7.2, A8.1, A10.1.a, A11.1.a, A12.1.a, E1.1.a, E3.1.a, E11.1. Orlando: Women's Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present, Cambridge University Press, online database. 12 works in 29 volumes, octavo (192 x 129 mm). Late 19th-century dark brown half morocco by Tout, spines with raised bands, gilt lettering and decoration in compartments, double gilt rules to boards, marbled sides and endpapers, top edges gilt, red silk book markers. Mill on the Floss bound without half-titles, vol. IV of Middlemarch bound without fly-title, vol. III of Daniel Deronda bound without errata and vol. IV without advertisement leaf. Occasional light rubbing to extremities, a few corners gently bumped, a little loss of leather to headcaps of four vols., contents mildly toned, internally clean. A very good set indeed, well-margined and bright.

Religion plays a significant role in the lives of the characters in George Eliot’s ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’. The novel is set in the early 19th century in a rural English community where religion is deeply ingrained in the social fabric. The characters are all members of the Church of England, and their beliefs and practices are central to their daily lives.Overall, ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ can be seen as a foundational work for George Eliot’s later writing. Its exploration of complex characters and social issues set the stage for the themes and ideas that would come to define her literary career. The Cultural and Historical Significance of ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’

Bodenheimer, Rosemarie. 'A Woman of Many Names' in ed. Levine, George. The Cambridge Companion to George Eliot. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. p 29. [1] Her 1872 work Middlemarch has been described by Martin Amis and Julian Barnes as the greatest novel in the English language. Logan, Deborah Anna (1998). Fallenness in Victorian Women's Writing. University of Missouri Press. pp. 138. ISBN 9780826211750. Why, he'll eat his head off, and yours too. How can you go on keeping a pig, and making nothing by him?'

Overall, the characters in ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ are richly drawn and their relationships are complex and nuanced. Through their interactions and conflicts, George Eliot explores themes of love, duty, and social class, creating a vivid and compelling portrait of life in a small English village in the mid-19th century. The Themes Explored in ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ Lawson, Kate; Shakinovsky, Lynn (2002). The Marked Body: Domestic Violence in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Literature. New York: SUNY Press. p.167. ISBN 9780791453759. George Eliot’s first fiction, Scenes of Clerical Life, comprises three scenes, or sketches, of individual clergy in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century English Midlands: “The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton,” “Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story,” and “Janet’s Repentance.” Each story explores one clergyman’s struggles with the hypocrisy of society, the demands of institutional religion, the challenges of provincial life, the nature of true love, and the meaning of true religion. The thing we look forward to often comes to pass, but never precisely in the way imagined to ourselves.