George Eliot - notable among Victorian novelists not only for her books but also for her personal life-story - explored through five of her fictional characters
It's sometimes said that George Eliot never wrote an autobiography because she had written her own life into her key characters.
1.Maggie Tulliver
Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from contemporary writer Tessa Hadley and recent Eliot biographer Philip Davis about Maggie Tulliver from Mill on the Floss: how much of the story of Maggie, a clever, tempestuous girl with a rigid and less-gifted brother, growing up in the West Midlands with an adoring father, was inspired by Eliot's own upbringing?
2.Dorothea Brooke
Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from contemporary writer Tessa Hadley and recent Eliot biographer Philip Davis about Dorothea Brooke from Middlemarch. Does the morally serious young woman, desperate to make a serious contribution in small-town life and beyond, represent the feelings of the young Eliot herself?
3.Janet Dempster
Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from contemporary writer Sathnam Sanghera and recent biographer Philip Davis about Janet Dempster from the early novella, Janet's Repentance. A shocking and very contemporary story about domestic violence in a small West Midlands town, how much does the redemptive journey of the abused Janet reflect Eliot's own growth in sympathy as a novelist?
4.Silas Marner
Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from contemporary writer David Constantine and recent Eliot biographer Philip Davis about Silas Marner, the embittered small-town line-weaver whose life is transformed when he fosters a small foundling, Eppie.
Eliot never had children herself, but she took very seriously her responsibilities towards the sons of her partner, George Henry Lewes. Did she pour her understanding of children and the redemptive power of parenthood into the character of Silas?
- Gwendolen Harleth
It's sometimes said that George Eliot never wrote an autobiography because she had already poured so much of her own experiences into her key characters.
Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from debut novelist Kathy O'Shaughnessy and recent biographer Philip Davis about Gwendolen Harleth, the charismatic,, flawed heroine of Eliot's final novel, Daniel Deronda.
Does Gwendolen's fated search for some agency in her life reflect Eliot's opinion about the growing fight for women's equality?
With readings from the novels by Juliet Stevenson
Producer: Beaty Rubens
Size 31MB, each part 14 minutes long, Bitrate 64kbps
Replies
Thanks, Bill! I love her stories!
Looking forward to these. Thanks, William!