Impressions of Theophrastus Such by George Eliot
Editor: Nancy Henry
Pickering Women's Classics
978 1 85196 086 6: 234x156mm: £40.00
Availability: America: Iowa University Press
George Eliot (1819-80) is one of the most widely read and loved of the nineteenth century novelists and story writers. Impressions of Theophrastus Such appeared in 1879, Eliot's last completed work. It consists of eighteen short essays in the voice of a middle-aged bachelor, recalling the Characters of the ancient philosopher, Theophrastus. This is essentially Eliot's forgotten work, unavailable for most of the twentieth century. It appears now in its first annotated edition. This scholarly publication explains the text's enigmatic nature, its difference from Eliot's other work. It is compiled from the original manuscript in Eliot's hand, her corrected proofs and the first edition of the work.
Contents
Introduction; Chronology; Select Bibliography; Note on the text; Acknowledgements; Chapter headings: Looking Inward; Looking Backward; How We Encourage Research; A Man Surprised at his Originality; A Too Deferential Man; Only Temper; A Political Molecule; The Watch-Dog of Knowledge; A Half Breed; Currency; The Wasp Credited with the Honeycomb; 'So Young!'; How We Come to Give Ourselves False Testimonials, and Believe in Them; The Too Ready Writer; Diseases of Small Authorship; Moral Swindlers; Shadows of the Coming Race; The Modern Hep! Hep! Hep!
Reviews
'This sturdily bound and clearly printed edition is a must for all public and academic libraries with literature collections. George Eliot and her Impressions have been well served.'
– W Baker, CHOICE