Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

So, this is more or less Adam Bede. The two of them are like Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink. Only no gender switching, and the hero always ends up with Mary Stuart Masterson.

There once was a Hot Rich Guy, a Less Hot Noble Guy, a Hot Flawed Chick and a Less Hot Noble Chick Of A Different Religion.

Hot Flawed Chick was shallow but charming and everyone loved her. She desired Hot Rich Guy, because he was both Rich and Hot.

Less Hot Noble Guy was drawn to both Hot Flawed Chick and Less Hot Noble Chick Of A Different Religion, but couldn’t pursue Less Hot Noble Chick Of A Different Religion, because she was of a Different Religion and because someone that Less Hot Noble Guy knew also desired Less Hot Noble Chick of a Different Religion.

Hot Rich Guy was cruel to Hot Flawed Chick, and ruined her in some way. This ruin brought out Hot Flawed Chick’s flaws, and caused her to do a Terrible Deed. She learned introspection as a result of the guilt of the Terrible Deed, and appealed to the Less Hot Noble Guy to help her get her groove back.

Less Hot Noble Guy comforted Hot Flawed Chick, who was grateful and somewhat redeemed, but in the end Less Hot Noble Guy won over the Different Religion problem and the alternative suitor problem (Nobly) and ended up with Less Hot Noble Chick of a Different Religion.

This is not to say that the books are bad. Plots are plots and the real value is in the telling. And of course, George Eliot tells a story well, though I have read critics who say that her main strength is presenting the motivations of her characters.

Either way, a good read.