Overview
George Eliot is one of the most celebrated novelists in history. Her books, including Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and Adam Bede, are as appreciated now as they were in the nineteenth century. Yet her nonconformist and captivating personal life—a compelling story in itself—is not well known. Ridiculed as an ugly duckling, Eliot violated strict social codes by living with a married man for most of her adult life. Soon after he died, she married a much younger man who attempted suicide during their honeymoon. The obstacles Eliot overcame in her life informed her work and have made her legacy an enduring one.
Brenda Maddox brings her lively style to bear on the intersection of Eliot’s life and novels. She delves into the human side of this larger-than-life figure, revealing the pleasure and pain behind the intellectual’s public face. The result is a deeply personal biography that sheds new light on a woman who lived life on her own terms and altered the literary landscape in the process.
Synopsis
George Eliot is one of the most celebrated novelists in history. Her books, including Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and Adam Bede, are as appreciated now as they were in the nineteenth century. Yet her nonconformist and captivating personal life—a compelling story in itself—is not well known. Ridiculed as an ugly duckling, Eliot violated strict social codes by living with a married man for most of her adult life. Soon after he died, she married a much younger man who attempted suicide during their honeymoon. The obstacles Eliot overcame in her life informed her work and have made her legacy an enduring one.
Brenda Maddox brings her lively style to bear on the intersection of Eliot’s life and novels. She delves into the human side of this larger-than-life figure, revealing the pleasure and pain behind the intellectual’s public face. The result is a deeply personal biography that sheds new light on a woman who lived life on her own terms and altered the literary landscape in the process.
Publishers Weekly
Despite her "magnificently ugly, deliciously hideous" (in the words of Henry James) looks, George Eliot's love life was quite prosperous-enough so to become the basis of Maddox's compelling new book. Though interested in many men, Eliot nonetheless dryly defends herself: "In spite of what some caustic people say, I fall not in love with everyone." Dreading a life spent alone, Eliot meets George Henry Lewes, a small man "whose charm outshone his ugliness" (there seems to be a theme) and who would later be credited as the man "who gave the world George Eliot." While Lewes was the "love of her life," he-already married and with multiple children-was not the best suitor. Through extensive research, Maddox crafts an intimate look at Eliot's life through her romantic relationships, transporting readers to Victorian England and all the trappings-its exquisite literature, scandalous affairs, and maladies aplenty-in an occasionally plodding look at Eliot's life. Photos.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Despite her "magnificently ugly, deliciously hideous" (in the words of Henry James) looks, George Eliot's love life was quite prosperous-enough so to become the basis of Maddox's compelling new book. Though interested in many men, Eliot nonetheless dryly defends herself: "In spite of what some caustic people say, I fall not in love with everyone." Dreading a life spent alone, Eliot meets George Henry Lewes, a small man "whose charm outshone his ugliness" (there seems to be a theme) and who would later be credited as the man "who gave the world George Eliot." While Lewes was the "love of her life," he-already married and with multiple children-was not the best suitor. Through extensive research, Maddox crafts an intimate look at Eliot's life through her romantic relationships, transporting readers to Victorian England and all the trappings-its exquisite literature, scandalous affairs, and maladies aplenty-in an occasionally plodding look at Eliot's life. Photos.(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.