George Eliot: A Life in Five Characters

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George Eliot: A Life in Five Characters: Episode 5

Episode 5

BBC Radio 4 - George Eliot: A Life in Five Characters, Episode 5

George Eliot's real life through five of her fictional characters - Gwendolen Harleth

George Eliot's real life through five of her fictional characters
Kathryn Hughes hears from Kathy O'Shaughnessy and Philip Davis about Gwendolen Harleth from Daniel Deronda

George Eliot -  notable among Victorian novelists not only for her books but also for her personal life-story - explored through five of her fictional characters 
5. Gwendolen Harleth 

It's sometimes said that George Eliot never wrote an autobiography because she had already poured so much of her own experiences into her key characters. 

Presenter Kathryn Hughes hears from debut novelist Kathy O'Shaughnessy and recent biographer Philip Davis about Gwendolen Harleth, the charismatic,, flawed heroine of Eliot's final novel, Daniel Deronda. 

Does Gwendolen's fated search for some agency in her life reflect Eliot's opinion about the growing fight for women's equality? 

With readings from the novel by Juliet Stevenson

Producer: Beaty Rubens

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Five contemporary writers paint a multi-faceted portrait of this great Victorian novelist.

Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Eliot, five contemporary writers paint a multi-faceted portrait of this great but perhaps less familiar of Victorian novelists.

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