The novel is based on a story told to George Eliot by her aunt Elizabeth Evans, a Methodist preacher, of a confession made to her by a girl in the condemned cell at Nottingham gaol awaiting execution for the murder of her child. Hetty Sorrel, pretty, vain, and self-centred, is the niece of the farmer Martin Poyser of Hall Farm. Adam Bede, the village carpenter, a young man of dignity and character, loves her. The squire, Arthur Donnithorne, is attracted to Hetty and she is vain enough to dream of becoming the squire's wife. Adam watches Arthur's flirtation with growing anxiety and tries unsuccessfully to intervene. Arthur deserts Hetty after seducing her. Adam's loyalty to Hetty is rewarded when, heartbroken at Arthur's desertion, she agrees to marry him but... Alexandra Dumas called this novel "the masterpiece of the century". It was highly acclaimed for its realism, for its picturesque portrayal of rural life, and for its humour.