成人论坛

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