Scenes of Clerical Life

by George Eliot

"Scenes of Clerical Life" by George Eliot is a collection of three short stories published in 1858. Eliot's first published fiction introduces readers to the lives of Anglican clergymen in the fictional English Midlands town of Milby. Set during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, these interconnected tales explore religious reform, tensions between established and dissenting churches, and social issues including poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence. Each story centers on a different clergyman navigating faith and community in changing times.