Felix Holt the Radical (The Norton Library N517) Paperback – 13 December 2016

Both myself and my husband have read this now and what a good read. Political views expressed are almost timeless and as relevant today as they were at the time of the Reform Act! The speech which Eliot was asked to write for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine and headlined in January 1868 is included in the appendix - what an excellent piece of writing by a woman in those days albeit in the voice of Felix Holt.

As described & promptly delivered.

The first Reform Bill has just passed. The wealthy squire Harold Transome is set to grab the local borough seat on a Radical ticket against the objections of the more deserving, labouring Felix Holt. And they soon become unwitting rivals in another arena, for the heart of the book's real heroine, Esther Lyon, the dissenting minister's daughter. 'Felix Holt' is a rich novel: both political speculation and comedy of manners. It portrays 19th century election processes in their full, colourful detail: corruption, intimidation, vote-buying and all, while leaving room for hope and ultimately painting a fascinating picture of nascent democracy. It is also endowed with George Eliot's subtle dialogue and keen eye for psychological and social nuance.I have only read Middlemarch by the same author. The much thicker and better known work has a wider cast of characters and, with its more slowly-paced plot, it provides a deeper analysis of early Victorian country mores, but it is also a more classical piece of social study. 'Felix Holt' is a busier, rowdier novel, yet I found it just as convincing and engaging in its characters and relations. It is entertaining on multiple levels; this is a book that appeals both to readers with a historical interest and to those simply looking for a good intrigue. Highly recommended.

I really don't like Jane Austen, and I thought that this might be similar. But no, this was a very enjoyable read, with some strong characters. The tories haven't really changed in 200 years have they ?

This is Eliot limbering up for the masterwork that is Middlemarch. It's not her best book, but it's still streets ahead of the competition and compulsively readable. Felix Holt: The Radical, like many books of the time, features religious controversy, an inheritance plot requiring several scarcely believable coincidences with much legal debate and a political theme as well as the obligatory central romance. What many of the other books, or rather their authors, lack, however, is Eliot's extraordinary empathy and moral breadth. Felix himself is in danger of being a bit of a self-righteous prig, and Esther starts out as the usual selfish, trivial-minded anti-heroine. But Eliot has this unwavering belief that people can grow, and change for the better, and that other people can help them do that, and Felix will be enriched and softened by love and Esther will discover what is really important in life through the example of a selfless nature. Eliot is the great purveyor of realism: she researched every aspect meticulously (she corresponded with a lawyer about the precise details of her intricate legal plot, and one of the great attributes of Eliot as a novelist and omniscient narrator is that she can share with you the depth of her knowledge of what makes her characters tick - there wasn't a fleeting thought in their heads of which she was unaware; she knew everything that had ever happened to them and what it had done to them. She can make us sympathise with characters who appear to have very little to commend them, like Mrs. Transome. She is wholly assured with all levels of society and has their various speech patterns down pat. The political theme here is very interesting. Eliot believed the vote was useless unless men were educated sufficiently to know how to use it wisely. Education was the key to everything for men and women, to help them learn how to be part of a larger society. Politicians should be made to read Eliot. She believed the individual can make a difference. There are some wonderful minor characters in this book - the Reverend Lyon, a genuinely good man, Jermyn the evil Dickensian lawyer, the oily Mr. Johnson the election fixer and so forth. And there are some splendidly funny parts, especially the set piece where the bible-spouting Mrs Holt braves the Transomes at home. So - all human life is here, you feel like a better person after reading it, and it's thoroughly enjoyable too.