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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2023/03/01/felix-holt-the-radical/
Summary: Felix Holt: The Radical is set in the rural village of Little Treby, just after the passing of the 1832 Reform Act and detailing the first local election to take place in the village after the act. Like Middlemarch, Felix Holt follows multiple characters through this time but the focus is on the eponymous Felix Holt, independent minister Rufus Lyon, his daughter Esther, and the wealthy Harold Transome, who is to stand for election as a radical candidate. With political tensions being stoked, the village begins to move towards inevitable tragedy, one which will impact every character.
Overall Thoughts: Felix Holt was a great surprise for me as I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, despite my love for both Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss. As is often the case with George Eliot’s works, it is the character work which really stands out throughout Felix Holt and I was fully invested in the lives of the protagonists, despite their flaws. The slow pacing allows the reader to invest in the characters, building tension for the climax of the narrative. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Middlemarch, as there are enough similarities between the two that it is likely to also be an enjoyable read. I do think that some familiarity with George Eliot’s writing style and pacing would probably be helpful in terms of fully enjoying Felix Holt, particularly in the pacing of the first half of the narrative, but overall this is a great example of what makes Eliot such a strong and memorable writer.
Summary: Felix Holt: The Radical is set in the rural village of Little Treby, just after the passing of the 1832 Reform Act and detailing the first local election to take place in the village after the act. Like Middlemarch, Felix Holt follows multiple characters through this time but the focus is on the eponymous Felix Holt, independent minister Rufus Lyon, his daughter Esther, and the wealthy Harold Transome, who is to stand for election as a radical candidate. With political tensions being stoked, the village begins to move towards inevitable tragedy, one which will impact every character.
Overall Thoughts: Felix Holt was a great surprise for me as I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, despite my love for both Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss. As is often the case with George Eliot’s works, it is the character work which really stands out throughout Felix Holt and I was fully invested in the lives of the protagonists, despite their flaws. The slow pacing allows the reader to invest in the characters, building tension for the climax of the narrative. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Middlemarch, as there are enough similarities between the two that it is likely to also be an enjoyable read. I do think that some familiarity with George Eliot’s writing style and pacing would probably be helpful in terms of fully enjoying Felix Holt, particularly in the pacing of the first half of the narrative, but overall this is a great example of what makes Eliot such a strong and memorable writer.
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 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
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
Well that was unexpected… I loved this book!
I found this novel when looking for books from 1866 for one of the classics buffet challenges. I’m pretty sure I was unaware of it before.
Felix Holt arrives in the village of Little Treby to return to his mother’s home after giving up his study of medicine. He’s a radical and has many strong beliefs, he certainly doesn’t think much of the rich. Harold Transome also returns to his family home, and is also a radical but he is rich and stuns many of the other upper class families when he doesn’t stand as a Tory in the upcoming election. The year is 1832 and the reform act has opened up voting to more men (men with property of course!). Much of the early parts of the novel concern the election but the main character is Esther Lyon, daughter of a dissenting minister and I thought she was a wonderful character, an interesting young woman and her relationship with both Felix and Harold, simply put, is what the novel is about. But there’s much more, a bit of politics, some lawyer shenanigans, inheritances, affairs, and it’s written so well! Brilliantly constructed, I couldn’t put the novel down for the last quarter or so.
I found this novel when looking for books from 1866 for one of the classics buffet challenges. I’m pretty sure I was unaware of it before.
Felix Holt arrives in the village of Little Treby to return to his mother’s home after giving up his study of medicine. He’s a radical and has many strong beliefs, he certainly doesn’t think much of the rich. Harold Transome also returns to his family home, and is also a radical but he is rich and stuns many of the other upper class families when he doesn’t stand as a Tory in the upcoming election. The year is 1832 and the reform act has opened up voting to more men (men with property of course!). Much of the early parts of the novel concern the election but the main character is Esther Lyon, daughter of a dissenting minister and I thought she was a wonderful character, an interesting young woman and her relationship with both Felix and Harold, simply put, is what the novel is about. But there’s much more, a bit of politics, some lawyer shenanigans, inheritances, affairs, and it’s written so well! Brilliantly constructed, I couldn’t put the novel down for the last quarter or so.
Another excellent George Eliot novel! I think it is more difficult than the others on account of the political and legal details, but certainly worth the effort. I wrote more about it here:
https://vogliodio.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/felix-holt-and-the-force-of-beauty/
https://vogliodio.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/felix-holt-and-the-force-of-beauty/
DNF @ 60% of the way through.
Just not interested enough in the characters or themes explored to continue on. I might consider coming back to this book in a few years though, and see if my feelings have changed towards it.
Just not interested enough in the characters or themes explored to continue on. I might consider coming back to this book in a few years though, and see if my feelings have changed towards it.
Of course, anything by George Eliot is a gift.
But this novel is for hardcore fans only. It’s really quite dull as it goes into the deep depths of 1800s English law reform and the main character of Felix Holt is actually quite unlikeable.
Beautifully written of course - but there’s a reason this is probably her least read book.
But this novel is for hardcore fans only. It’s really quite dull as it goes into the deep depths of 1800s English law reform and the main character of Felix Holt is actually quite unlikeable.
Beautifully written of course - but there’s a reason this is probably her least read book.
I normally soak up 19th century classic novels, as they are my favourite genre. However, I have to confess to struggling with this novel. I have got to page 298 (chapter 31) and am finding it extremely "heavy weather" and am finding the plot hard to follow. "Middlemarch", to my mind, was much more readable. I am hoping that the final half of "Felix Holt" improves, as I am determined to stick this story out.
I have read other political novels, most recently the Palliser series by Anthony Trollope, which were extremely readable and enjoyable. I honestly can't say the same for this novel so far.
I have read other political novels, most recently the Palliser series by Anthony Trollope, which were extremely readable and enjoyable. I honestly can't say the same for this novel so far.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another read for my English class! Out of all I read so far, unfortunately this was not one of my favourites. This was my first Eliot, and I was a bit disappointed. However, I don't think it was a bad book and I'd still be interested in reading more by Eliot in the future.
Felix Holt revolves a lot around small-town politics and the implications of the Reform Act, which extended the right to vote to more land-owners. The eponymous character, Felix Holt, is passionate about the rights of the working class. Meanwhile, the novel also focuses on Harold Transome, a man from a Tory family who returns home and, to the surprise of others, decides to run as a Radical in the election. There is also a woman involved and a mystery that surfaces.
While reading this book for class, I was pretty bored during the lengthy political discussions. This was the main issue I had, because after the first few times I just wasn't interested in reading about it. However, I did like reading about the characters and seeing how they turned out in the end - I especially found the female characters interesting and compelling to read about. I loved seeing the development in Esther and Mrs Transome, and I did like seeing how the story wrapped up. Overall, I just found the middle of the story quite slow to get through so that hindered my enjoyment.
Felix Holt revolves a lot around small-town politics and the implications of the Reform Act, which extended the right to vote to more land-owners. The eponymous character, Felix Holt, is passionate about the rights of the working class. Meanwhile, the novel also focuses on Harold Transome, a man from a Tory family who returns home and, to the surprise of others, decides to run as a Radical in the election. There is also a woman involved and a mystery that surfaces.
While reading this book for class, I was pretty bored during the lengthy political discussions. This was the main issue I had, because after the first few times I just wasn't interested in reading about it. However, I did like reading about the characters and seeing how they turned out in the end - I especially found the female characters interesting and compelling to read about. I loved seeing the development in Esther and Mrs Transome, and I did like seeing how the story wrapped up. Overall, I just found the middle of the story quite slow to get through so that hindered my enjoyment.
More people should be reading this in this ridiculous year. Full spoileriffic review at Kate of Mind.