Felix Holt, the Radical

[Felix Holt, The Radical] by [George Eliot] A rabid fan of Eliot, but not so much in this case. The story takes place in the mid 19th century in a fictional industrial town in England, Treby Magna. Felix is an idealistic radical young man seeking changes, yet he is often disillusioned by politics. Felix is tempered by Esther, a more moderate (needs be a woman in that day!) whose moral integrity and personal growth is another side of social reform. I think Eliot was trying to show that idealism without practical wisdom can lead to failure. I got the feeling that Ms. Eliot was not a fan of radicalism, which surprised me with her being a female at this time in history. This was my least favorite of all the Eliot's I have read (which are show more most of them). I felt this was hardcore politics. While most of Eliot's work contains politics of some sort, this was just too detailed and too drawn out. 578 pages 99 cents on Kindle (US) show less

*5 writing; maybe *4 plotline, which is a tale of love, politics, religion, unexpected heirs and illegitimacy.
In North Loamshire, the election (a violent affair, full of bribery and threats) is about to take place. Harold Transome, newly returned to the family estate is standing as a Radical (to the distaste of his Tory relatives.) But why is the estate so diminished, and what does lawyer Jermyn have over his mother?
Meanwhile the eponymous Holt, a principled young watch maker, with a yen for social reform, is on the scene. As he discourses with the dissenting minister, Mr Lyon, he meets his lovely- but shallow? - daughter Esther...
Many twists and turns; gives a good insight into life in 1832. Dodgy elections have long been a show more thing!
However where George Eliot shines is in her very 3D characters, who are all, good and bad, believable. We understand their motivations and reasoning:

"Fancy what a game of chess would be if all the chessmen had passions and intellects, more or less small and cunning: if you were not only uncertain about your adversary's men, but a little uncertain also about your own; "
Brilliant writing. show less

Felix Holt is a surprising triumph for Eliot. For the first time, she engages fully with some of the deeper socio-political issues of her day and age. The plot is almost Dickensian in the amount of intrigue, scandal, and romance, which is a good thing for the sometimes achingly slow Eliot. Despite the (comparatively) racing plot, it is the emotional and psychological moments of the novel that are the strongest. Lady Transome is the best character I've read from Eliot yet. Felix Holt gets passed over due to its political and legal nuances that don't translate well to today's audience, but it also matters more in a social sense than many of her other works do.

A wonderful book, a classic, an easy five stars. The audio version is flawlessly read by Nadia May, who both vanishes into the text and is highly expressive. Then there is George Eliot. Is there a better writer? Is there a writer who uses the English language to better effect, ranging across the spectrum of both vocabulary and grammar? Then there is her utter mastery of human nature which she treats with insight, humor, and generosity. The plot! Yes, there is a happy ending, but the getting there had some surprises and was great fun. It is a 19th Century novel so there is a pacing and some conventions that are of the era—they are also part of the pleasure of the reading. But it is Eliot’s unerring grasp of our humanity and the show more values she expresses that make her works so timeless and rewarding to read. show less

The background to this novel is the 1832 Reform Act and the turmoil in local elections, as the novel was a historical one - published in 1866 it looks back to an earlier period when the vote was held only by landowners etc and was denied to all women and to working men. Of course, the reform that eventually did take place only extended the vote to categories of working men, women being denied it until well into the 20th century.

Despite the title, the novel does not focus totally on Felix Holt, a thirty-something man who gives up training to be a doctor, and also spurns an easier life of selling quack medicines originally pedalled by his deceased father, to instead become a watchmaker and live a fairly poor life. It is mainly the story show more of Esther, a young woman who is faced with the choice of Felix as husband or a more prosperous life, possibly as the wife of a local rich man who tries to enter politics as a candidate in the election. For Esther's true antecdents are gradually revealed in the novel and could lead her to becoming an heiress.

Meanwhile, Esther is torn between the two men. Felix's moral standards drive her to emulate him and abandon her superficial concerns with having a fine appearance etc. In the process, she becomes more caring to her father, the Dissenting minister.

I found this a slog in places partly because the style of writing is occasionally very convoluted and hard to follow. I also wasn't convinced by Felix's moral superiority. The refrain of women's inferiority (in a book written by a woman) did grate rather especially as Esther internalises it. Overall I would rate the book at 3 stars. show less

The first book I have finished in 2011 is a classic written by the estimable George Eliot, whose novel Middlemarch I fell completely in love with. I found Felix Holt to be an inferior work, but still entertaining and quite gripping toward the end of the book. The Transome estate is in neglect when we first enter the scene, and the stately lady of the house is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her second-born son who has recently become the inheritor of everything. Lady Transome has many high hopes for this, her favourite child, and is in a state of eager anticipation when he arrives. Thus the story starts briefly with hope, but delves quickly into a twisted labyrinth of secrets and politics, immorality and goodness, love and hatred. We show more meet Esther and her father Mr. Lyon, a Radical minister, Mr. Jermyn who is a lawyer and has managed Transome in lieu of a mentally incapacitated Lord and his gambling eldest son, and the man the book is named after, Felix Holt who is of high moral character and, even more impressive, practices what he preaches.

Felix Holt was slow to get into and slow to introduce characters, but once all that was out of the way it developed into a lovely little morality tale complete with romance and politics. I give it seven bookmarks out of ten.

http://toomanybooknotenoughtime.blogspot.com/2011/01/felix-holt-radical.html show less

This novel about class conflict in an English county town at the time of the Great Reform Act had some quirky and quite interesting characters. It also had a few great moments of speeches about political reform and class prejudice. However, these were quite few and far between and in essence it was a standard slow-moving 19th century novel about property and inheritance issues. Finished it, but it dragged a bit in the middle.