Adam Bede Illustrated

George Eliot's debut is a genuinely great Victorian novel — the moral depth, the characterization of Hetty Sorrel, and the unflinching exploration of consequence are the work of a major writer. But the 2021 Heritage Publishing illustrated edition cannot be independently assessed for editorial quality, and the infanticide and seduction themes make this firmly adult reading. For a verified scholarly edition of Adam Bede, the novel is worth it — for this specific edition, too much is uncertain.