MACMILLAN George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century: Literature, Philosophy, Politics

George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century reexamines Eliot two hundred years after her birth and offers an innovative critical reading that seeks to change perceptions of Eliot. Tracing Eliot’s literary reception from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, K. M. Newton frames Eliot as an unorthodox radical and considers the philosophical, ethical, political, and artistic subtleties permeating her writings. Drawing from close readings of her novels, essays, and letters, Newton offers a new critical perspective on George Eliot and reveals her enduring relevance in the twenty-first century. Review “Displaying a thorough and detailed knowledge of George Eliot’s work and a nuanced understanding of her context in the history of ideas, George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century challenges received opinion with bracing scepticism and insight, taking issue refreshingly with the widespread view of her as a conservative Victorian moralist, and making a persuasive case for the radical, sceptical and essentially modern nature of her writing.” (John Rignall, Emeritus Reader, University of Warwick, UK, author of George Eliot, European Novelist (2011) and editor of Oxford Reader's Companion to George Eliot, 2000) “Just in time for the 2019 bicentenary of George Eliot’s birth, K.M. Newton has produced an important reassessment of the author’s reputation and writings. This George Eliot emerges as a political radical, a scientific thinker and a modernist who, as Newton shows, speaks to twenty-first century readers more powerfully than any other Victorian writer." (Nancy Henry, Professor of English and Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, University of Tennessee and University of Tennessee and author of George Eliot and the British Empire, 2002) “Kenneth Newton’s study offers a timely reassessment of George Eliot as a ‘radical’ writer that allows us to re-perceive her works at the moment of her bicentenary. An impressive grasp of Eliot’s works and their critical reception surrounds an astute and original argument that is substantive in both breadth and depth, and will make a valuable contribution to the scholarly field for years to come.” (Charlotte Mathieson, Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century English Literature, University of Surrey, UK and author of Mobility in the Victorian Novel: Placing the Nation, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) From the Back Cover George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century reexamines Eliot two hundred years after her birth and offers an innovative critical reading that seeks to change perceptions of Eliot. Tracing Eliot’s literary reception from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, K. M. Newton frames Eliot as an unorthodox radical and considers the philosophical, ethical, political, and artistic subtleties permeating her writings. Drawing from close readings of her novels, essays, and letters, Newton offers a new critical perspective on George Eliot and reveals her enduring relevance in the twenty-first century. About the Author K. M. Newton is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. He is the author of Modernizing George Eliot (2011), Modern Literature and the Tragic (2008), and coauthor of George Eliot, Judaism and the Novels: Jewish Myth and Mysticism (Palgrave, 2002) and numerous other books.