Eliot's first novel

Scenes of Clerical Life is comprised of three stories originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1857. In these tales—“Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story,” “The Sad Fortunes of Reverend Amos Barton,” and “Janet’s Repentance”—Eliot explores such themes as religious strife, the realistic portrayal of social issues, and the power of love to alter lives—themes that would reemerge in many of her major works.