George Eliot, Kathryn Hughes
George Eliot, Kathryn Hughes
List: $31.95 | Sale: $22.36
Club: $15.97

George Eliot
The Last Victorian

Author: Kathryn Hughes

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 20 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/24/2009


Synopsis

The daughter of a respectable self-made businessman, the middle-aged Eliot was cast into social exile when she began a scandalous liaison with married writer and scientist George Henry Lewes. Only her burgeoning literary success allowed her to overcome society’s disapproval and eventually take her proper place at the heart of London’s literary elite. The territory of her novels encompassed the entire span of Victorian society.Kathryn Hughes has wrought a balanced, sympathetic, and intensely engaging biography, the first to grapple equally with the personal dramas that shaped Eliot’s psyche and with her broader social and intellectual milieu. A lively portrait emerges of a woman and writer by turns ambitious and insecure, cerebral and earthy, provocative and conservative—contradictions which not only express the spirit of Eliot’s time, but speak eloquently to our own.

About Kathryn Hughes

Kathryn Hughes is a lecturer in nineteenth-century English literature and history at several British universities and the author of one previous book, The Victorian Governess. She lives in London.

About Wanda McCaddon

Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jo on September 27, 2016

Excellent, thorough, interesting biography of a fascinating person in a complex time. Hughes negotiates everything very well, and keeps a good balance of writing about her life and work together. Also very readable. Recommended for anyone who likes Eliot's work. This is what I always hope biographie......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on March 26, 2021

Buried within the mass of gossipy obsession with guesswork as to ME's emotional life (and sex life) and far too much statement of opinion as though it were fact, is about 50 pages of interest. The problems with this as a bio of a writer can be seen from the fact that I would estimate only about 10%......more

Goodreads review by Kressel on May 01, 2018

As I’ve mentioned before, for many years, it’s been my ambition to research whether or not George Eliot had any contact with Rav Hirsch’s community in Frankfurt when she researched Daniel Deronda. I’ve taken a few steps toward that goal in recent months, and reading this biography was one of them. I......more

Goodreads review by Sara on March 27, 2015

On the one hand, George Eliot was easily one of the most sensational women of the nineteenth century, to say nothing of the millenium, and this bio makes her accessible to someone who read and liked _Mill on the Floss_, but doesn't know much about Eliot's contemporary world. On the other hand, Georg......more

Goodreads review by Derek on January 11, 2021

I must have really enjoyed this book because after finishing it (and My Life in Middlemarch) I went out to read George Elliot’s entire oeuvre. I think this famous biographer helped me to realize that Elliot was one of the most sophisticated thinkers who ever wrote creative fiction. In fact, this boo......more


Quotes

“This work is intelligent, adept, and full of insight. [Wanda McCaddon’s] narration is clear and precise; a welcome addition to public libraries.”  Library Journal

“Illuminating reading. [Wanda McCaddon’s] performance is, as usual, impeccable.” AudioFile

“[Hughes] brings a sense of close familiarity with this private, inward woman…a refreshingly intimate portrait.” Kirkus Reviews

“Hughes’ pungent account distinguishes itself by limning [Eliot’s] turbulent emotions with as much acuity as she does [Eliot’s] creative drive…She paints a vivid portrait of Victorian intellectual life and Eliot’s provocative role within it.” Amazon.com

“[McCaddon’s] flawless reading is perfectly timed and modulated, and flows easily. Well researched, well read and very easy to listen to.” Kliatt