George Eliot

by Gordon S. Haight

1968 Oxford Press

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Literary Criticism, Female Authors, British Literature, History

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Sara Abed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have given this biography five stars because I started reading it out of love for George Eliot and her novels, and I ended up loving her even more. Not only her, but all those who supported her throughout her life, especially George Henry Lewes, to the extent that I would love to read his work too. Their union is the most perfect of marriages and I would put up a fight for them, back then, and now, for a piece of paper does not make marriages.
As for the biographer, his style is easy going and simple. The too many excerpts that might bother other readers have entertained me immensely because they gave me miniature portraits of other characters strewn about in Marian's life.
I have read Middlemarch, The Mill on The Floss, and have been smitten by Adam Bede, and look forward to reading more of her novels soon enough.

[James Askari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copious and responsible. If Haight knows who came to one of Eliot's Sunday soirees at Richmond, he tells you. If he knows who Eliot had dinner with three days later, he tells you as well. There is no need for a clearer outline, greater form, a more shaping interpretation Inasfar as Haight has a line, it's that Eliot (morbidly diffident as a writer of fiction, shielded from incomprehending criticism by Lewes) needed to be loved. The sections up to her beginning work on Scenes of Clerical Life are perhaps inevitably more interesting than those dealing with her career as a high-earning author. Her income dwarfs Lewes's by a factor of six or seven from Adam Bede on; her take-home, including translation rights, American and Tauschnitz serialisation, renewal of copyright after ten years, from Middlemarch is over eight thousand. Haight's detailing of her dealings with John Blackwood, the publisher for all her novels but Romola, is sympathetic. The young, industrious heir to his struggling firm, he predeceased her. The gender and sexual politics of Haight's treatment have not aged too badly. Mrs Congreve and Edith Simcox, who love Eliot with a 'lover-like love', emerge as more intellectually substantial and genuinely solicitous figures than they do elsewhere. Herbert Spencer, whom Haight describes as an egotist, emerges as asexual.

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got around to George Eliot. Her books have been on my shelves, and so has this biography, picked up long ago at the annual library sale in my hometown. After enjoying Middlemarch, I knew I would read most, if not all, of Eliot’s major works. Since she seemed to draw on people and places from her Midlands childhood, I decided to read this biography in parallel, a chapter at a time, then read the next Eliot novel before continuing.
It was an experiment, and I don’t think I’ll repeat it. I love reading writers’ lives, but I always feel guilty if I haven’t read much of the writer’s output. Yet having this biography lie unfinished on my stack for so long while I successively read Eliot’s novels bothered me. Still, I kept up my regime until it was time to tackle Silas Marner, but then decided to finish this biography instead. Interestingly, Silas Marner is the book that was supposed to be my introduction to George Eliot in high school when I didn’t read most of the required books.
Haight’s biography was an excellent way to become acquainted with George Eliot, the person. She was one of many nineteenth-century English who rejected the idea that a belief in God is necessary for the highest standard of morality.
I was impressed by her work ethic. But she was diffident about her work, plagued by self-doubt and depression (and headaches) while working on each book. Even the slightest adverse reaction could block her. For this reason, her life partner, George Henry Lewes, insulated Eliot from criticism. Authors such as Trollope and Dickens avidly followed the reception of each installment of a new book and fine-tuned subsequent episodes. Haight is undoubtedly correct when he says that, while this practice theoretically could have benefited Eliot as well, the more likely result, given her nature, would have been not even to have the books we have.
One quibble I have with the book: the many names were hard to keep track of; after a while, I skimmed each roster of who was at dinner, concluding she knew nearly everyone worth knowing in her time. Another thing: Even the best authors let a sentence pass that would fit well in The Reader Over Your Shoulder, the Graves and Hodges classic. Haight is no exception: Lewes was researching for a book on psychology. In Vienna, an acquaintance introduced him to “Professor Meynert, Director of the Psychiatric Clinic, and Stricker, the pathologist, who exhibited interesting types of insanity.”

[Allen]

A long bio that shines with all its detail on her life. The story of how she inadvertently prepared to become a great writer is terribly interesting for someone (me) who loves 18th and 19th century British lit. She was a brilliant mind, reading so widely, traveling extensively. She knew many of the eminent Victorians and the details on these folks are facsinating.

[Jessica Goldberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, matter of fact account of Eliot's life and history of producing the novels. Not particularly entertaining or readable, but good if you're a serious fan looking to understand some of the context of the novels.

[Kathy Kattenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was longer reading this book than is usual for me, because I didn't read it continuously. Although the book well deserves its reputation as the source for all later George Eliot scholars, it's a difficult read. It's long (550 pages), and Haight's prose is less than lively. Also, as other reviewers have noted, Haight's generous use of lengthy extracted quotes gets tedious. Nevertheless, there is no question about Haight's expertise on George Eliot. And his respect and regard for Eliot's character and extraordinary uniqueness of nature and spirit, as well as for her literary greatness, make this biography moving and powerful, and a must-read for all George Eliot fans. Caveat, though: familiarity with George Eliot's novels is a prerequisite if you want to get anything of value from the book.

[Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

A competent biography, but it does not do enough to set George Eliot apart from her contemporaries. I and many others think she is comparable to Tolstoy. So comparisons to Gaskell and Dickens are somewhat beneath her. I want to know what put her above the pack. One gets the feeling that Haight saw her prowess as simply a product of her environment and experience. He is admiring, but unenthused, or at least restrained.

[adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid biography of Eliot; while not the most enthralling account, it nevertheless avoids many of the pitfalls of other biographies, such as over-narrativization. Contains many long excerpts from letters, which are helpful for the enthusiast.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating biography, though I would recommend it only if you are familiar with Eliot's work. It has made me determined to revisit her novels. She was a very unique person and her writing is exquisite.

[Kressel Housman]

Just got this on loan from my aunt!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo!