A foreword in this edition reproduces a letter Evans wrote to Harriet Beecher Stowe, defending her stance in this regard.

At the time this was an unpopular and even controversial view. In Daniel Deronda Eliot demonstrates considerable sympathy towards the Jewish people, their culture, and their aspirations for a national homeland. Unsurprisingly, Gwendolen misinterprets Danielâs attentions. The paths that Gwendolen and Daniel follow intersect often, and Danielâs kindly nature moves him to try to offer her comfort and advice in her moments of distress. The young woman turns out to be Jewish, and through his trying to help her find her lost family, Deronda comes into contact with Jewish cultureâand in particular with a man named Mordecai, who has a passionate vision for the future of the Jewish race and who sees in Daniel a kindred spirit. He persuades her instead to come with him for shelter to a family he knows. One evening, while rowing on the river Thames, he spots a young woman about to leap into the water to drown herself. This consciousness of his probable illegitimacy moves him to kindness and tolerance towards anyone who is suffering from disadvantage. The marriage turns out to be a terrible mistake.ĭaniel Deronda has been raised by Sir Hugo Mallinger as his nephew, but Daniel has never discovered his true parentage, thinking it likely that he is Sir Hugoâs natural son. The only escape seems to be for her to marry a wealthy older man who has been courting her in a casual, unemotional way. But the familyâs fortune is lost through an unwise investment, and she returns to a life of near-poverty, a change which she greatly resents both for herself and for her widowed mother. She lived in comfort and was indulged and pampered. It deals with two major characters whose lives intersect: One is a spoiled young woman named Gwendolen Harleth who makes an unwise marriage to escape impending poverty the other is the titular character, Daniel Deronda, a wealthy young man who feels a mission to help the suffering.ĭuring her childhood Gwendolenâs family was well-off.

Â 70 in the BBCâs 100 Greatest British Novels (2015)ĭaniel Deronda, published in 1876, was George Eliotâs last novel. Standard Ebooksģ14,283 words (19 hours 3 minutes) with a reading ease of 66.67 (average difficulty) Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot - Free ebook download - Standard Ebooks: Free and liberated ebooks, carefully produced for the true book lover.

Daniel deronda