Daniel Deronda
By George Eliot
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
George Eliot
George Eliot (1819-80) was born Mary Ann Evans into the family of a Warwickshire land agent and did not escape provincial life until she was 30. But she was brilliantly self-educated and able at once to shine in London literary circles. It was, however, her novels of English rural life that brought her fame, starting with Adam Bede, published under her new pen name in 1859, and reaching a zenith with Middlemarch in 1871. Eliot was a devoutly moral woman but lived for 25 years with a man who already had a wife. It is indicative of the respect and love that she inspired in her most devoted readers that Queen Victoria was one of them.
Read more from George Eliot
The Greatest Books of All Time Vol. 2 (Dream Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gothic Classics: 60+ Books in One Volume Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRomola Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Short Stories Of George Eliot: "Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them." Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lifted Veil Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Harvard Classics: All 71 Volumes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScenes of Clerical Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romola Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Silly Novels by Lady Novelists: An Essay by George Eliot (Marian Evans) - Illustrated and Annotated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daniel Deronda: “I think I dislike what I don't like more than I like what I like.” Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Best Humorous Writings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry Hour - Volume 6: Time For The Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScenes of Clerical Life (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Books of All Time Vol. 4 (Dream Classics) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Romola: "What are a handful of reasonable men against a crowd with stones in their hands?" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Middlemarch (Centaur Classics) [The 100 greatest novels of all time - #14] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFelix Holt, the Radical Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thanksgiving Story Book: Classic Holiday Tales for Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Daniel Deronda
Related ebooks
Daniel Deronda Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two classic novels ISTP will love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda (Dream Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda: Historical Romance Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda: Historical Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda (Historical Novel) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda: “I think I dislike what I don't like more than I like what I like.” Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daniel Deronda (Centaur Classics) [The 100 greatest novels of all time - #81] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories written by a lady with a man's name - Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaniel Deronda: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnderground Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pretty Lady Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures and Enthusiasms Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuried Alive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnother Study of Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Eliza Orzeszkowa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuried Alive: A Tale of These Days Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Will He Do with It: Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Will He Do with It? — Complete Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Orchard of Tears Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrlando: A Biography (Wisehouse Classics Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJewel Weed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 331, September 13, 1828 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsName and Fame: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Place of Honeymoons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Masquerade Being the Story of the Lone Wolf's Daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhantom Wires: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Latest Literary Essays and Addresses: (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Classics For You
Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm: A Fairy Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bell Jar: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn French! Apprends l'Anglais! THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: In French and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The New Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hell House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Titus Groan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lathe Of Heaven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Daniel Deronda
556 ratings17 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The character of Daniel Deronda rises to meet all the accolades, in and out of the book, and yet, as an adult, he strangely continues to lackthe simple courage to ask Sir Hugo who his parents really are or were. This lack of resolution goes on way too long and, with the endless self-pitying introspection of self absorbed and entitled Gwendolyn, makes the book at least one quarter too long. His hesitation with Gwendolyn is self serving and makes one wonder if the passion aroused around the gambling table ever went extinct.Gambling was boring while archery stands out, making one long to join an Archery Ball and and Archery Picnic!And, there are always George Eliot gems: "The best introduction to astronomy is to think of the nightly heavens as a little lot of stars belonging to one's own homestead."While many characters are finely drawn, I wish that Mirah had been less meek (giving up her purse to her father, c'mon),making readers wonder if she will be a match for Daniel or continue to stay in awesome acquiescing mode.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Still, IMHO, the best Eliot. Bigger issues, and you always know Eliot's way smarter than you and point/counter-pointed it already.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic intertwining of two stories centred around Deronda, thoroughly enjoyed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful book by one of my favorite authors. It is the only one she wrote that occurs during her contemporary times and deals with antisemitism in English Victorian society.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5There are few times when I find myself completely agreeing with critics of the books I read, but in the case of "Daniel Deronda" (1876) I found the observation from F.R. Leavis that the book ought to have been split in half and the good part be published separately under the title "Gwendolen Harleth" dead-on. For "Daniel Deronda" has two main story lines which are only loosely coupled, and while the one featuring haughty and spiritually bereft Gwendolen Harleth sizzles from the first page ("Was she beautiful or not beautiful?"), the other, featuring the Jewish characters Mirah, Mordecai, and Daniel drag the book down. Comparing the book to her masterpiece "Middlemarch" may be unfair, but what's missing is its breadth of characters and life; in the Deronda portions of the book in particular Eliot is too heavy-handed and often falls into over-analysis. There are some who will recoil at occasional overt anti-semitic statements; I cut Eliot some slack because (1) as with other authors we must remember the time in which she wrote, (2) the overall message about the profundity of the Jewish faith embodied in its spiritual characters is quite positive, and (3) Eliot was about 20 years ahead of her time in suggesting that a separate Israeli state be created (Herzl's "The Jewish State" was published in 1896), though she was a bit naive ("there will be a land set for a halting-place of enmities, a neutral ground..." Ha!). It's also clear from a letter she wrote to Harriet Beecher Stowe that her intentions were 100% good.The character of Gwendolen is memorable, as is her marriage to the reptilian Grandcourt, who slowly but surely squeezes the life out of her like a boa constrictor. If the book could have been 200-300 pages shorter such that the Deronda portions were present but streamlined and a subplot, it would have been far better.Quotes:On marriage:"...to become a wife and wear all the domestic fetters of that condition, was on the whole a vexatious necessity. Her observation of matrimony had inclined her to think it rather a dreary state, in which a woman could not do what she liked, had more children than were desirable, was consequently dull, and became irrevocably immersed in humdrum. Of course marriage was social promotion; she could not look forward to a single life; but promotions have sometimes to be taken with bitter herbs...""Perhaps other men's lives were of the same kind - full of secrets which made the ignorant suppositions of the women they wanted to marry a farce at which they were laughing in their sleeves."Further, on women's position in the world:"We women can't go in search of adventures - to find out the North-West passage or the source of the Nile, or to hunt tigers in the East. We must stay where we grow, or where the gardeners like to transplant us. We are brought up like flowers, to look as pretty as we can, and be dull without complaining. That is my notion about the plants: they are often bored, and that is the reason why some of them have got poisonous.""You are not a woman. You can try - but you can never imagine what it is to have a man's force of genius in you, and yet to suffer the slavery of being a girl. To have a pattern cut out - 'this is the Jewish woman; this is what you must be; this is what you are wanted for; a woman's heart must be of such a size and no larger, else it must be pressed small, like Chinese feet; her happiness is to be made as cakes are, by a fixed receipt.' That was what my father wanted."On the goodness that exists potentially in all of us:"...if only these two beautiful young creatures could have pledged themselves to each other then and there, and never through life have swerved from that pledge! For some of the goodness which Rex believed in was there. Goodness is a large, often prospective word; like harvest, which at one stage when we talk of it lies all underground, with an indeterminate future: is the germ prospering in the darkness? at another, it has put forth delicate green blades, and by-and-by the trembling blossoms are ready to be dashed off by an hour of rough wind or rain. Each stage has its own particular blight, and may have the healthy life choked out of it by a particular action of the foul land which rears or neighbours it, or by damage brought from foulness afar."On knowing another person:"Attempts at description are stupid: who can all at once describe a human being? even when he is presented to us we only begin that knowledge of his appearance which must be completed by innumerable impressions under different circumstances."On ignorance:"Knowledge slowly builds up what Ignorance in an hour pulls down. Knowledge, through patient and frugal centuries, enlarges discovery and makes record of it; Ignorance, wanting its day's dinner, lights a fire with the record, and gives a flavour to its one roast with the burnt souls of many generations."On delusion:"Parents are astonished at the ignorance of their sons, though they have used the most time-honoured and expensive means of securing it; husbands and wives are mutually astonished at the loss of affection which they have taken no pains to keep; and all of us in our turn are apt to be astonished that our neighbours do not admire us."On socialism:"There are enough inevitable turns of fortune which force us to see that our gain is another's loss: - that is one of the ugly aspects of life. One would like to reduce it as much as one could, not get amusement out of exaggerating it."On memories of home:"To most men their early home is no more than a memory of their early years, and I'm not sure but they have the best of it. The image is never marred. There's no disappointment in memory, and one's exaggerations are always on the good side."On zionism:"The idea that I am possessed with is that of restoring a political existence to my people, making them a nation again, giving them a national centre, such as the English have, though they too are scattered over the face of the globe."
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I ended up liking the book more than I thought I would. Gwendolen Harleth is really a fantastic character, and Eliot has a superb mastery of the consciousness of people from many different backgrounds. A word to the wise: parsing through the language is a little like trying to kill yourself with a feather.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ambitious and thought-provoking, as always. Daniel Deronda begins as a traditional novel of courtship and marriage. Then, a hundred pages in, it becomes an unconventional exploration of nationalism and morality, with a conclusion that I'm sure would have been quite daring for its time.
I'm not sure how well Eliot's musings about nationalism have aged; in a large part this book is about ethnic identity and Zionism, and Daniel Deronda's happily ever after as a Zionist feels unconvincing now that we've had sixty years of conflict in Palestine. Eliot's specific claims - that, despite the fact that some people just aren't interested in their background, or that background entails suffering in the form of discrimination or internal sexism, group identity has something to offer its members - is something with which most people will agree to a point, but perhaps not to the point that Eliot wants to take it.
However, I imagine this was a groundbreaking novel in its portrayal of Jewish characters, and the comparisons between the female characters in Mirah's world and Gwendolen herself were genius.
I also found Daniel, while at times a bit preachy, a very compelling character, whose total willingness to sympathize and try to understand the world leaves him unable to act in it. From this perspective, Daniel's taking on an identity is crucial and gives him a context from which to act. His adoption of this identity feels troublesomely random, but perhaps this is Eliot being a bit sly and unessentialist. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Although this Victorian classic has many of the usual threads - arranging marriages for fortune or title, love triangles, and the issue of social class structure - this book adds the unusual addition of the emerging Zionist movement. I have always cringed whenever reading passages in Victorian novels that have Jewish characters. These people usually have pretty minor roles, but are always portrayed as unattractive, lacking morals and being overall villains or lower class. Slurs against Jews abound in books from this time period. Eliot has definitely taken a brave step in portraying the title character, Daniel Deronda, as an Englishman, brought up with all the advantages of money and class, but with a murky birth history. As an adult, he discovers his Jewish roots which he embraces wholeheartedly. My biggest peeve with this book is that Eliot's motives of portraying Jews in a positive light and educating the world about Zionism are portrayed awkwardly. Deronda's reaction of completely embracing his Judaism seems unrealistic. Jews were treated as second class citizens and the book has long passages of preaching. Definitely this book was admirable for its intent, but not as well executed as it could have been.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It would be superfluous for me to repeat the many excellent reviews given already. Here are my thoughts on finally completing this long and may I say,difficult work.Daniel Deronda himself I found self-satisfied and something of a prig.His treatment of Gwendolen at the end was nothing more than disgraceful and could well have led to her committing suicide. Gwendolen Harleth is for the most part a most annoying person. She is a spoilt and pampered creature with few good points except a deep love for her mother. The real villain is Henleigh Mallenger Grandcourt whom Gwendolen feels forced to marry due to the fact that he is rich and her family has lost their own money.This turns out to be a regrettable decision as Grandcourt is also cruel and cold to a remarkable degree.Deronda himself saves a young girl from drowning herself (his only true act of goodness it seems to me) She turns out to be a Jewess called Mirah who is the only main character in the book with whom one can truly empathise. She has a brother,Mordecai,who to be frank,must be one of the most boring person ever written about. He goes on and on for pages and pages about the Jewish religion until you want to hit him.As I have said about other books,the reader must be able to sympathise with at least some of the main characters and in this cast one just cannot. All power to George Eliot for writing this complicated and detailed story which runs in my edition to over 800 pages. I'm glad I've read it,but unlike some of her other books,I won't be returning to it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is my all time favorite novel. Eliot managed to combine the social issues of prejudice, upbringing, and class creating a wonderful tale of love and finding one's own self.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is one of those works of classic British literature that is apparently absolutely fantastic and a must read for everyone (especially English majors), but which is extremely difficult and at times mind-numbingly boring.I like George Eliot, I really do. I think she was a great writer, and the themes and techniques she uses in her novels are pretty cool and make for some fun discussions (that is, if you're the kind of person who gets into conversations about, as one example, the rise of the middle class/democracy in the nineteenth century as shown in really long novels). But I don't like reading her books. Daniel Deronda didn't keep my attention, and I felt like I had to force myself through the middle section, and I never did read the entire thing, though I skipped to the end and I have a good idea of how the story goes. Maybe one day, I'll go back to the novel and try it again, but that probably won't be until I've read absolutely everything else on my shelves, I'm sure.Daniel Deronda is marginally more entertaining than Mill on the Floss, and definitely more enjoyable than David Copperfield, but it's really really long and Victorian, and, well, I'd rather see a film version than read it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not for the faint hearted, make sure to drink plenty of liquids before hand, but well worth the effort. Plenty of bon-mots for the book club.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful classic novel by George Eliot about a young jewish man's struggles to survive and choose the right love.This is one of the most beautifully written novels of its day, and is timeless in its message.Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daniel Deronda is one of the most admirable and remarkable characters I've ever encountered. He is saintly and kind but he hasn't been very dynamic in the novel. However, Gwendolyn Harneth takes the place of the female protagonist who was a spoiled brat at first but has encountered so many strifes, brought about by the consequences of her actions, which led her to a painful curve towards learning. Eliot's attempt to explore Jewish mysticism is difficult to muddle through, even with copious footnotes. I love this book but I'm looking forward to read Mill of the Floss and Middlemarch this year so I am not certain which one I will like best until I read the others.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have a sneaking suspicion that I have just read the best book I will read in 2016- [Daniel Deronda] by [George Eliot]. I have now read all of Eliot's works and this is by far the best layered and most emotion illiciting book of the bunch. This is Eliot's final and most in-depth novel. It does not take place in rural England, but in a very modern London. Although the book is titled Daniel Deronda, he often plays second fiddle to several other characters. The plot is two-fold, one plot line involving traditional English class society and focusing on the life and fate of Gwendolen Harleth, an initially arrogant and pampered young woman who, through a series of misadventures, chooses to marry Grandcourt, a corrupt and domineering titled Englishman who makes her life a misery. The second plot line involves a young Jewess, Mirah, and her brother Mordecai (Ezra), following their struggles in England. The two plots are linked by Daniel Deronda, presumably a bastard child of a wealthy man.This work by Eliot tackled the really tough topic of Zionism. In fact I read that following Eliot's death, there were attempts to publish the book without the Zionist parts. Highly recommend this book! 5 stars!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have a sneaking suspicion that I have just read the best book I will read in 2016- [Daniel Deronda] by [George Eliot]. I have now read all of Eliot's works and this is by far the best layered and most emotion illiciting book of the bunch. This is Eliot's final and most in-depth novel. It does not take place in rural England, but in a very modern London. Although the book is titled Daniel Deronda, he often plays second fiddle to several other characters. The plot is two-fold, one plot line involving traditional English class society and focusing on the life and fate of Gwendolen Harleth, an initially arrogant and pampered young woman who, through a series of misadventures, chooses to marry Grandcourt, a corrupt and domineering titled Englishman who makes her life a misery. The second plot line involves a young Jewess, Mirah, and her brother Mordecai (Ezra), following their struggles in England. The two plots are linked by Daniel Deronda, presumably a bastard child of a wealthy man.This work by Eliot tackled the really tough topic of Zionism. In fact I read that following Eliot's death, there were attempts to publish the book without the Zionist parts. Highly recommend this book! 5 stars!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really love Eliot, and I found this book really good. Eliot's style is great and she writes so beautifully, the characters are worked out well and are believable in their doubts and problems.What I found special about this book is the way Eliot writes about Jews. In Eliot's days it wasn't common to say anything positive about Jews, and though the characters have the common prejudices against Jews, the Jewish characters are such nice, good people that they all come to love them. Daniel Deronda himself is actually happy to find out that he is Jewish too. This is such a contrast with the way Jews are usually described in 18th and 19th century literature that I found it very refreshing. Apparently it didn't help to increase the popularity of the book at the time and many people felt it was wrong of Eliot to write something like this, so I think it was quite brave of her to do so anyway.Besides this, it's just a beautiful story, of love and kindness, but also of cruelty; it's a coming-of-age type of story in Gwendolyn's discovery of what the real world is like, and a bit of a mystery-story in Daniel's search for his parents and his identity. A book that has many different aspects, and definitely highly recommended...