Title: Daniel Deronda

Author: George Eliot  

Genre: Classic Literature

Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

Format: Paperback

Pages: 675

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Gwendolen Harleth, George Eliot’s most remarkable heroine, marries for money and power rather than love, but finds marriage a trap and her husband’s sadistic use of power constricting. The upper class Victorian society in which she moves is juxtaposed with that of the hero, Daniel Deronda. The warmth and profound moral fervour of his newly discovered community of English Jews casts a harsh light on the superficiality and hypocrisy of Gwendolen’s world. Daniel’s influence is a redemptive force that ultimately saves Gwendolen from despair. Eliot breaks new ground for the English novel with the unusual form and content of this extraordinary tale which conveys the full, painful complexity of love and life.

Review:

I read Middlemarch by George Eliot a few years ago and I loved it! So I was excited to jump into another one of her novels and it did not disappoint! Eliot has a way of creating and developing characters and are super relatable, even today. Daniel, the main character, doesn’t know who his parents are, and seeks to find himself throughout the novel. Gwendolyn, the other main character, is stubborn, selfish, and only cares about being rich (well she cares about her mother, so I’ll give her that one). But she develops quite exceptionally throughout the novel and through her connection to Daniel, she becomes a better person and realizes a lot more about herself!

The book also represents Jewish people and their relationship to people of other religions in England at the time of publication (1800s). While some have negative perceptions, other characters show compassion towards the Jewish characters and it was so great to see such compassion from a book written back then!

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it if you enjoy classic literature such as the works Dickens and Austen!

Happy reading!