By George Meredith (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

George Meredith’s “The Egoist” is widely regarded as one of his most accomplished and mature works, combining his characteristic wit, psychological depth, and social critique into a sharp and satirical narrative. Published in 1879, this novel represents a pinnacle in Meredith’s literary philosophy—his commitment to using fiction not merely as entertainment but as a vehicle for exploring human character, societal expectations, and the subtle dynamics of personal relationships. In many ways, “The Egoist” functions both as a comedy of manners and as a profound psychological study, holding a mirror up to the follies and vanities of Victorian society.
At the heart of “The Egoist” lies a central theme that preoccupied Meredith throughout his literary career: the tension between individual selfhood and the demands of others—particularly within the confines of marriage and social conventions. The story revolves around Sir Willoughby Patterne, a wealthy and charming yet profoundly self-absorbed gentleman, whose narcissism forms the axis upon which the novel’s drama turns. Meredith describes him as a man who regards others merely as extensions of his own identity, whose self-love blinds him to the autonomy, desires, and inner lives of those around him. Willoughby’s egoism is not the mere arrogance or pride commonly depicted in fiction but is an all-encompassing psychological state—a subtle, insidious failure of empathy and moral imagination.
In conclusion, “The Egoist” is more than a satire of a single narcissistic man; it is a brilliant dissection of the subtle forces that govern human relationships. Through its precise psychological characterization, sharp wit, and philosophical depth, the novel transcends its Victorian context to speak to enduring questions about identity, autonomy, and the ethical demands of living among others. Its challenge to readers remains as relevant today as it was in 1879: to recognize, confront, and transcend the egoisms that so often distort both personal and social life.
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By George Meredith (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition

George Meredith’s poetry stands as one of the most intellectually challenging and idiosyncratic contributions to Victorian literature. Published in 1888 by Macmillan and Co., The Poetry of George Meredith collects his poetic output into a single volume, offering readers a comprehensive view of a body of work that was often overshadowed by his accomplishments as a novelist. While Meredith’s fiction earned him widespread recognition during his lifetime, his poetry was a more private, cerebral pursuit—revered by literary peers but frequently misunderstood or overlooked by the broader reading public.
To approach Meredith’s poetry is to enter a realm where language serves not merely as ornament but as a crucible for thought. His verse rejects the lush musicality and emotional immediacy typical of many of his contemporaries in favor of a dense, elliptical style that demands intellectual engagement. Meredith himself was acutely aware of how unconventional his poetic voice was, famously describing his work as being written for those “whose heads are used to thinking.” His lines often eschew smoothness for compression, sacrificing surface harmony in pursuit of precision, depth, and psychological or philosophical insight.

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By George Meredith (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

At the heart of One of Our Conquerors is the story of Victor Radnor, a self-made, successful businessman who embodies the energies of commercial Victorian England. Victor is a man of formidable charm, ambition, and benevolence, yet he is ensnared in a socially precarious position due to his relationship with his beloved partner, Nataly, with whom he has lived for years as husband and wife without formal marriage. Their union, socially illegitimate though personally devoted, becomes the focal point for much of the novel’s tension. Victor’s desire to legitimize their relationship and secure a respectable position for their daughter Nesta in society serves as the narrative’s driving conflict.
Meredith, ever the ironist, does not present Victor uncritically. Victor is a man of immense energy, imagination, and generosity, but also prone to illusions—particularly about the power of charm, wealth, and personal will to override the deeper currents of social judgment. His belief that society can be bent to his personal desires reflects both the optimism of the self-made man and the hubris that often accompanies unchecked ambition. In this sense, the title One of Our Conquerors carries a double edge: it acknowledges Victor’s triumphs in commerce and his conquest of circumstances but also points to the broader critique of conquest itself—whether in business, society, or personal relationships.
One of Our Conquerors is a profound exploration of the tensions between private morality and public life, between individual will and social constraint, and between the old moral orders and the emerging complexities of modernity. It challenges readers to consider the costs of social conformity, the meaning of success, and the possibilities for human integrity in a world increasingly driven by commerce, appearance, and social performance. As with Meredith’s other major works, it is a novel whose rewards are commensurate with the patience and thoughtfulness brought to it—a work that continues to resonate with readers interested in the enduring struggles between the personal and the public, the ideal and the real.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 291p.

By George Meredith (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Evan Harrington, first published in 1861, represents a crucial early milestone in the literary career of George Meredith. While not as formally experimental or philosophically dense as his later masterpieces like The Egoist or Beauchamp’s Career, this novel nonetheless displays in fully developed form the sharp social satire, psychological acuity, and probing concern with class, identity, and social performance that would become hallmarks of Meredith’s mature work. More overtly comedic than much of his later fiction, Evan Harrington occupies a unique place in his canon as both a sparkling social comedy and a pointed critique of the hypocrisies embedded within Victorian class structures.
At its most basic level, Evan Harrington is a novel about a young man’s struggle with the question of identity — specifically, the tension between his personal merit and the social stigma attached to his family’s occupation. Evan is the son of Melchisedec Harrington, an exceedingly proud and flamboyant tailor whose death leaves his family facing financial and social crisis. Although Evan has received a gentleman’s education and possesses the manners and intellect of the upper classes, he is forced to reckon with the fact that in the rigidly stratified world of mid-19th century England, the mere fact of being “the tailor’s son” is enough to exclude him from the ranks of polite society.
Evan Harrington remains a vital and compelling work not only because it provides insight into Meredith’s literary evolution but also because its central concerns continue to resonate. The tension between personal integrity and social expectation, the arbitrariness of class distinctions, and the enduring question of what it means to live authentically within a society structured by appearances — these remain pressing questions in any era.
In sum, Evan Harrington is both a sparkling social comedy and a profound moral fable. It combines the pleasures of sharp character portraits, witty dialogue, and romantic intrigue with a serious exploration of identity, class, and the painful comedy of human vanity. It is a work that delights the reader while also challenging them to reflect on the enduring absurdities of social life and the courage it takes to live truthfully in the face of them. As such, it stands as a worthy introduction to the genius of George Meredith and a foundational text within the broader tradition of the Victorian social novel.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 332p.

By George Meredith (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Diana of the Crossways, first published in 1885, represents a pivotal achievement in George Meredith’s literary career. It stands apart not merely as his most commercially successful novel during his lifetime but as a mature and sophisticated exploration of some of the most pressing social, psychological, and philosophical dilemmas of the Victorian age. This novel synthesizes his longstanding thematic concerns—gender relations, the constraints of marriage, the struggle for individual autonomy, and the social mechanisms of hypocrisy and surveillance—into a narrative that is at once accessible, profoundly ironic, and deeply analytical.
At its center is the figure of Diana Merion Warwick, a woman of exceptional beauty, intellect, and vivacity, whose struggle is emblematic of the tensions between the individual, particularly the intellectually aspiring woman, and a society structured to suppress her independence. Diana’s trajectory is not merely the story of a woman’s personal fate but a dramatization of the larger structural impediments to female agency in a patriarchal world that equates female virtue with silence, obedience, and domestic confinement.
The novel’s contemporary relevance is striking. Its exploration of gendered power dynamics, the politics of reputation, the policing of women’s voices, and the ethical failures of institutions built on inequality continues to resonate with modern readers. It anticipates many of the concerns that would later be taken up by feminist literary critics, particularly in its portrayal of how systemic power operates through language, marriage, and social surveillance.
Diana of the Crossways thus stands not merely as a compelling work of Victorian fiction but as a profound literary experiment in social critique, psychological realism, and moral philosophy. It is a novel that challenges the reader to think deeply about the structures of power that govern intimate relationships and public life, and about the costs of pursuing truth and autonomy in a world designed to punish those who do. Through its combination of narrative wit, philosophical depth, and emotional intensity, it remains one of George Meredith’s most enduring and significant achievements.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 275p.

By George Meredith. Introduction by Colin Heston

When An Amazing Marriage was published in 1895, George Meredith stood at the summit of his literary career, celebrated as one of the most intellectually formidable and stylistically daring novelists of the Victorian age. By this time, Meredith had forged a reputation for works that combined psychological subtlety, social satire, and philosophical inquiry, appealing more to the discerning literary elite than to the broader Victorian reading public. An Amazing Marriage emerges as one of his last full-length novels and, fittingly, revisits many of the themes that had preoccupied him throughout his life—gender relations, the institution of marriage, the constraints of social conventions, and the inner lives of women.

The very title, An Amazing Marriage, signals Meredith's ironic stance toward the Victorian ideal of marriage. Rather than a romantic or sentimental union, marriage is often portrayed in his works as a contested arena, where conflicting expectations, social pressures, and personal ambitions collide. In this novel, Meredith offers a biting critique of the marital conventions of his era, presenting a union that is both remarkable and troubling in its complexity.
Although An Amazing Marriage is less frequently read today than Meredith’s earlier masterpieces, it remains a vital document of the tensions that defined late-Victorian society. Its psychological acuity, progressive gender politics, and sharp critique of social hypocrisy retain their resonance in the modern era, where debates about marriage, gender roles, and personal autonomy continue to evolve.
For contemporary readers, the novel offers both a window into the anxieties of the past and a mirror reflecting the enduring challenges of balancing love, freedom, and social expectation. Aminta’s journey toward self-realization, with all its attendant risks and uncertainties, anticipates the narratives of countless women in the century that followed.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 213p.