Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel penned by George Eliot, a pseudonym for Victorian author Mary Anne Evans, first published in England in 1861. It is a dramatic tale of a reclusive weaver, which in strong realism depicts the author's sophisticated treatments of her attitude toward religion. In a script set in the early 19th century, Silas Marner is a member of a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, a slum street in an unnamed city in the North of England. He is falsely accused of stealing the congregation's funds while caring for a very ill deacon. A pocket-knife belonging to Marner and the bag formerly containing the money are found in his house. It appears evident to Silas that his best friend, William Dane, has framed him, because he had lent the pocket-knife to William a short while before, and had not seen it since. Silas is proclaimed guilty by the members of his church and the woman he was to marry rejects him, and later weds Dane. With his life and his heart ripped apart, Silas leaves Lantern Yard and the city he has long called home. Marner heads south, settling near the village of Raveloe, where he lives as a recluse, plying his trade of weaving, and hoarding his earnings. When his gold is stolen by Dunstan Cass, the dissolute young son of a squire, who is the town's leading landowner, Silas sinks into a deep depression, despite the villagers' attempts to aid him. "Dunsey" Cass disappears, and once again no association is made between the thief and the theft.
About the Author: George Eliot was the pen name of English Victorian author, Mary Anne Evans (1819-1880). Silas Marner is the third of nine novels authored by her. She used a male pseudonym to escape the stereotype of lighthearted romances, and to ensure that her work would be taken seriously. She also wanted to avoid public scrutiny of her private life with married philosopher and critic, George Henry Lewes, who mentored her, with whom she lived for 20 years.. She was, no doubt, troubled because of her lack-luster appearance, and was disenchanted with religion. Because of her exceptional intelligence, her father endeavored to provide her a good education, something she took part in only until age 16. After that, she studied on her own, being allowed access to the vast library of Aubrey Hall. In 1850 she moved to London with the intent of becoming a writer, originally calling herself Mirian Evans. It was shortly after this when her relationship with Lewes began, and in 1856 her first novel was published. Lewes died in 1878, and two years later, in May of 1880, she married John Cross. Her death came before the end of that year.