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The Lifted Veil
by
George Eliot
This classic large print title is printed in 16 point Tiresias font as recommended by the Royal National Institute for the Blind
Paperback, Large Print, 100 pages
Published
January 2nd 2006
by Echo Library
(first published 1878)
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Werner
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of 19th century fiction
Shelves:
science-fiction
This book won't be every reader's cup of tea. As the above description suggests, its subject matter was atypical for Eliot --though she wrote it in 1859, her publishers found it so different from her usual work that they delayed printing it until 1878. Premised as it is on psychic phenomena --flashes of telepathy and precognition, which in Eliot's day were just beginning to attract the attention of some intellectuals, and of the public (the titular "veil" is the one that hides the fu...more
Perfectly likable, provocative little ditty. Five-star insight with okay character and shaky plot. The following is a quote I want to add as a little coda that exemplifies some of my reservations about Absence of Mind. Yes, I'm using another review to further review something else.
"Conceive the condition of the human mind if all propositions whatsoever were self-evident except one, which was to be come self-evident at the close of a summer's day, but in the meantime might be the...more
"Conceive the condition of the human mind if all propositions whatsoever were self-evident except one, which was to be come self-evident at the close of a summer's day, but in the meantime might be the...more
Kirsti
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
neurasthenics, Trent Reznor, people who wear leather and vinyl in ninety-degree weather
Plotwise, this is not that much more complicated than an episode of Murder, She Wrote. But the prose style is gorgeous, and I felt all swoony and doomy while reading it, and that's a perfectly good feeling to have on rainy November days.
Some of my favorite passages:
The city looked so thirsty that the broad river seemed to me a sheet of metal; and the blackened statues, as I passed under their blank gaze, along the unending bridge, with their ancient garments and their sai...more
Some of my favorite passages:
The city looked so thirsty that the broad river seemed to me a sheet of metal; and the blackened statues, as I passed under their blank gaze, along the unending bridge, with their ancient garments and their sai...more
http://virtualmargin.blogspot.com/2011/08/lifted-veil-33100.html
So George Eliot wrote a gothic-horror/science fiction piece?
The Lifted Veil is quite a departure from Eliot's other work. Written only a few months after Adam Bede, it was at first rejected by her publisher. However it now seems to be getting the critical attention it deserves.
The story follows Latimer, a self-described sensitive poet who also happens to be clairvoyant -- he can see visions of the futu...more
So George Eliot wrote a gothic-horror/science fiction piece?
The Lifted Veil is quite a departure from Eliot's other work. Written only a few months after Adam Bede, it was at first rejected by her publisher. However it now seems to be getting the critical attention it deserves.
The story follows Latimer, a self-described sensitive poet who also happens to be clairvoyant -- he can see visions of the futu...more
In TLV Eliot explores the theme of extrasensory perception, which was in vogue when she wrote the novella. The main character, Latimer, has the ability to perceive what others are thinking and to see into the future. Unfortunately Latimer seems unable to them use these extraordinary powers to his advantage. To the contrary, he seems burdened by them and in fact lives his life a victim to fate. He is locked in a loveless, even hateful, marriage to Bertha, one that he foresaw and possibly could ha...more
The Lifted Veil is a novella or short story by George Eliot. The story is told by Latimer, who has just been told he has not much longer to live, and looks back on the events of his earlier life. What makes this story slightly unusual, at least taking into acount the time it was written, is that Latimer seems to suffer from some sort of illness and this may or may not be related to his ability to read the emotions and/or thoughts of other people. This ability is the lifted veil of the title. ...more
I really enjoyed this. If it wasn't for the irrelevant B-movie ending, this would be a 5-star work. Until that ending (bringing the dead back to life with...a blood transfusion...only to tell a secret and die), it is a brilliant examination of fate, knowledge, and mystery. The narrator, if we are to believe him, is a sensitive, poet-type, who, after a childhood illness (a proto-comic book plot), developed clairvoyant abilities.
This clairvoyance, however, ruins everything for him. Rath...more
This clairvoyance, however, ruins everything for him. Rath...more
I shudder to give an Eliot book two stars, but this just wasn't my favorite.
I do admire the integration of Eliot's 'fringe' interests into her fiction -- here, phrenology and "animal magnetism," or what we would call psychic ability/mind reading today -- against all popular opinion.
The novella is worth a read for the moral question that frames the story: "If you could have chosen a better fate but didn't, what kind of person does that make you?"
I do admire the integration of Eliot's 'fringe' interests into her fiction -- here, phrenology and "animal magnetism," or what we would call psychic ability/mind reading today -- against all popular opinion.
The novella is worth a read for the moral question that frames the story: "If you could have chosen a better fate but didn't, what kind of person does that make you?"
This novella just didn't cut it for me -- it was supposed to be full of metaphysical/mystical/superstitious horror, or something, but it wasn't worth the time that George Eliot took to develop it. The characters weren't that great, the plot was a bit of mess, and I'm very greatful that this was apparently the one foray Eliot took from her normal style of writing more grounded realistic fiction in her career.
I actually downloaded the Project Gutenberg version of this for iBooks on the iPad and was surprised to find how awesomely easy it is to read classic literature on it. The built in dictionary in iBooks works without being connected to wifi, and since we don't have a 3G iPad this was very convenient.
As far as the novella goes, it read a lot like a ghost story, it was creepy and in some ways dissimilar from alot of George Elliot that I have read. The Lifted Veil is about a sensitive and...more
As far as the novella goes, it read a lot like a ghost story, it was creepy and in some ways dissimilar from alot of George Elliot that I have read. The Lifted Veil is about a sensitive and...more
This book is entirely different from any of George Eliot's other writings. It is kind of science-fictiony in that it relates the tale of a young man who is stricken ill and during that illness he acquires the powers of ESP and clairvoyant abilities. The young man is a conceited narrator in relating his tale to us and for that reason, he annoyed me. However, as you get to the end of his story, he relates to us a tale of revivification through blood transfusion and it is this tale that makes th...more
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This is not for everyone. It really has no plot to speak of but I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting, which isn't a tall order since the ebook was only 50 pages. What is compelling about The Lifted Veil is the writing. Eliot makes what is essentially a man telling us the events of his life a rich tapestry. There are elements of the supernatural which are tame by modern standards but are still interesting to read.
This is a sacrilege, but I didn't care for The Lifted Veil. I don't know if it was that Eliot took a very long time setting up Latimer's state of mind or that she rushed to the finish. But while the beginning and end are related, the middle (approximately 90% of the story) could be a standalone piece.
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this is the first book of George Eliot that I haven't liked. It didn't seem to have a story, for me, at least. I enjoyed her other books immensely, especially Silas Marner and Adam Bede which were particular favourites. I may read this one again some other time and be more receptive to it.
The Lifted Veil is a haunting, creepy and thought-provoking short story. I enjoyed it very much. The story is 664 Kindle locations. I wish it had been a little longer. I feel the author could have offered us much more following the death of the lady's maid.
While this story is short, it isn't a quick read. You'll want to slow down to capture the emotion in Eliot's writing.
This story reminded me of Wuthering Heights. That book is a retelling of a tragic life. The Lifted V...more
While this story is short, it isn't a quick read. You'll want to slow down to capture the emotion in Eliot's writing.
This story reminded me of Wuthering Heights. That book is a retelling of a tragic life. The Lifted V...more
I was surprised to come across this little known novella. I'd never heard of it. After reading it, I know why. It is very bleak. The main character is perpetually sad and unsympathetic. The premise was promising, but the book failed to reach the potential.
At first I wasn't sure what to think about Eliot's short story but after I finished it I thought it was a fantastic portrayal of mankind's sinful nature. The characters, although were far from good people, were compeling and complex. I really do like her as a writer!
Oddly, this novella had many parallels to True Blood. Man can hear people's thoughts, which drive him crazy, so he falls in love with the one woman whose thoughts he cannot hear. Sadly though, she's not a vampire, just a bitch.
i love books which at the very end make me say "ahhhh!" not like in quenching thirst, but like, i'm in on the joke now, i see what you did there, pal! this book was a 3 for sure until the last several pages, but then the last paragraph reminded me why i was there and the entire journey in like two sentences. well played, eliot. you have won my audienceship for middlemarch, now.
Oh lord!! What beautiful characterization!! George Eliot never misses the mark for me. Although I've to admit that I prefer some of her other books better. Nevertheless, a good read and easily done
I have already read this. And as is increasingly the case with books on my shelves that I've already read: I can't for the life of me remember how I liked it, not even enough to take a guess at how many stars I'd award it.
Gruesome.
Gruesome.
A mini-book containing a short story about a man whose life is blighted by his ability to foresee the future and read other people's thoughts.
This early Eliot novella is a curiosity, a surprising foray into Edgar Allan Poe territory. And it is both more readable than much of Poe's work and less inventive.
This book was actually really good, and now I feel embarrassed about how much I hated Silas Marner in the tenth grade. I mean, you've got to respect someone who changes her name to George just so people will take her seriously.
An interesting little volume that has more in common with penny dreadfuls and "Frankenstein" than "Silas Marner" or "Middlemarch"
read this in tendem with my novia lying on me on the grass on a beautiful, somewhat chilly May afternoon...
It kinda withers at the end but overall, a good story.
Ahhh- the relief of a wonderful writer-it's like butter.
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity....more
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Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity....more
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