Scenes of Clerical Life cover art

Scenes of Clerical Life

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Scenes of Clerical Life

By: George Eliot
Narrated by: Clare Wille
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £16.86

Buy Now for £16.86

About this listen

In the quiet world of rural English clergy, lives are full of challenges, conflicts, desires and expectations. George Eliot’s first published work of fiction (1857) comprises three separate stories and has the hallmarks of her famous later works–her gentle wit and clever satire, her psychological insight, and her keen observation of human nature and frailty. These are beautifully written and poignant tales, set in and around the fictional Midlands town of Milby.

Reverend Amos Barton has a tough time as the new curate in Shepperton, in The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton; in Mr Gilfil’s Love Story, Maynard Gilfil is in love with an Italian orphan called Tina, who becomes the central focus of the story; and in Janet’s Repentance, Edgar Tryan, an evangelical, helps Janet to overcome the abuse of her husband.

Scenes of Clerical Life opens the curtain on one of the greatest Victorian novelists.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2024 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd. Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Short Stories Witty
All stars
Most relevant
Scenes of Clerical Life was the first non-fiction created by Mary Ann Evans and was initially published anonymously and, later, under the pen name George Eliot. It is a collection of three stories, and the quality of the writing is as good as any of George Eliot’s later work. It really is beautifully written.

The first story is a gently humorous piece about village life, with a sting in the tail. The second story is a tragic love story which is so passionate I thought it would be the highlight of the collection. I was wrong. The third story may take a while to get going but it evolves into a very moving portrait of domestic violence which must have been shocking to readers of the time. It is written with realism and great feeling, and the ending of that story equals anything Thomas Hardy would create.

Despite the title of the collection, that third story is the only one with an overtly religious message.

I can highly recommend Scenes of Clerical Life to anyone who has read and enjoyed George Eliot. In fact, this is a good place to start with her work being shorter and with better pace than some of her novels. That a person’s first piece of fiction could be this good is astounding and really marks George Eliot out as one of the greatest writers of all time.

Clare Wille reads with passion and feeling, really bringing the stories to life.

A Superb First Work by George Eliot

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.