Publisher, Audio Partners (November 2003)

The printed version of this title was selected by The New York Review of Books' "Reader's Catalog" as one of the 40,000+ Best Books in Print!

Silas Marner is considered a masterpiece of literature authored by Marian Evans (1819-80) writing under her pen name of George Eliot. She is celebrated as one of England's greatest novelists.

"I think Silas Marner holds a higher place than any of the author's works. It is more nearly a masterpiece; it has more of that simple, rounded, consummate aspect. . .which marks a classical work." --Henry James

A moral allegory about the redemptive power of love. The weaver, Silas Marner, is embittered by a false accusation, disappointed in friendship and love and has retreated into a life alone with his loom and his gold. Silas hoards a treasure that kills his spirit until fate steals it from him and replaces it with a golden-haired foundling child. Where she came from, who her parents were, and who really stole the gold are secrets that permeate this moving tale of guilt and innocence. It is also a finely drawn picture of early nineteenth-century England in the days when spinning wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses, and of a simple way of life that was soon to disappear.

About the Author: George Eliot, the penname of Mary Ann Evans, published Silas Marner in 1861. Her masterpiece, Middlemarch, was published in 1871. Silas Marner is considered Eliot's most accessible book.

About the Performer: Andrew Sachs is best known as Manuel in Fawlty Towers, but has appeared in several plays, including Educating Rita. He is highly-recognized as an audiobook reader and has read all four Maigret titles from The Audio Partners.