Gwendolen

February 23, 2015
Souhami's uneven first novel is a love letter from Gwendolen Harleth, protagonist of George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda, to Deronda himself. The first two-thirds of the book tracks Eliot's story. Gwendolen falls in love with the handsome Deronda while gambling, even as his sobering gaze seems to spoil her luck. Discovering that her fortune has been lost and she, her widowed mother, and her half-sisters will soon be destitute, Gwendolen accepts the hand of wealthy Henleigh Grandcourt despite a plea from Grandcourt's mistress. As Grandcourt's cruelty makes her glittering life a private hell, Gwendolen's passion for Deronda persists. She frees herself from Grandcourt in a single dark moment, but Deronda pursues his Jewish identity and another woman, Mira Lapidoth, rather than making a new life with Gwendolen. Unlike Eliot, Souhami portrays Gwendolen as a widow who explores artistic and feminist circles while attempting to find her purpose. Gwendolen even meets the famous "George Eliot," who she finds curiously probing and knowledgeable. The book's final third showcases the historical knowledge that helps make Souhami's nonfiction (Gertrude & Alice) so successful. But reliance on summary and retracing of familiar ground flatten its impact, and and Souhami never fully develops either Gwendolen or her relationship to her creator.

January 1, 2015
Rearranging the characters in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, acclaimed British biographer Souhami (Murder at Wrotham Hill, 2012, etc.) audaciously puts a modern spin on a literary classic."Capricious, reckless, and in need of guidance," "petulant and hard to please": Gwendolen Harleth points out her flaws early and often in this secret confession to Deronda, the man who offers concern but not the love she craves. Gwendolen meets Deronda at a European spa where she has fled after being wooed by a rich but possibly sinister suitor, Henleigh Grandcourt. Beautiful and headstrong but hampered by her family's ruined fortunes, Gwendolen is expected to make a good marriage to keep her mother and four stepsisters afloat. But she does not love Grandcourt, attracted instead to Deronda's honesty and pure-mindedness. Her family's worsening finances, however, force Gwendolen to overlook her doubts and accept Grandcourt. Three weeks later, she finds herself trapped in marriage to a cruel, vicious man. Meeting Deronda at social events, Gwendolen becomes even more deeply aware of her misery, but Deronda is now following his own path and can offer only sympathy and encouragement, even when Gwendolen is widowed. Souhami's narration is deft and painstaking but, confined to Gwendolen's self-absorbed perspective, has a limited range, further hindered by the more static phase the story enters after the sadistic marriage ends. Gwendolen still pines for Deronda but heals, rejoins society and spends time with George Eliot-"I had a sense of unreality, as if I was a work of fiction, a creation of her pen"-eventually learning to stand on her own two feet. Playing with ideas about creativity, exploring Victorian gender roles and women's rights, Souhami's first novel is a well-crafted, idea-driven curiosity.

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January 1, 2015

In noted biographer Souhami's (Mrs. Kepel and Her Daughter) fiction debut, the author reimagines George Eliot's final novel, Daniel Deronda, through the viewpoint of Gwendolen Harleth, who addresses Eliot's eponymous hero in an unsent letter that offers her version of the events of Eliot's classic work--many scenes and conversations are lifted from the original. Choosing to wed rich Henleigh Grandcourt despite her promise to his mistress not to do so, Gwendolen endures psychological and sexual abuse in her marriage. Thoughts of murder cause her to hesitate when she might prevent Henleigh's drowning. Gwendolen repeatedly addresses Deronda as her moral compass and potential savior, only to have her hopes dashed when he discovers his Jewish identity. Continuing our protagonist's story after Eliot's ending, Souhami establishes her heroine creating a liberated life among free thinkers. But unlike Eliot's Gwendolyn, who is transformed by her suffering, Souhami's character remains most devoted to her favorite subject: her beautiful, clever self. VERDICT Readers whose interest in Eliot was rekindled by Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch may want to try Souhami's interpretation, but general readers probably won't find this alternative worth the bother. [See Prepub Alert, 9/22/14.]--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

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March 15, 2015
The heroine of George Eliot's Daniel Deronda (1876) takes center stage in Souhami's first novel. Beautiful but doomed Gwendolen Harleth is gambling at the roulette tables in Germany when she meets the dashing Mr. Deronda. Arrogant and spoiled Gwendolen's gaming success comes to an end when she is summoned back to England to deal with a family financial crisis. To save her mother and sister from penury, Gwendolen agrees to marry the wealthy but abusive Henleigh Grandcourt. She dreams of a life with Deronda, but he is unattainable. She spends the remainder of her life immersed in her sadness and longing for him. Despite Grandcourt's death, Gwendolen remains trapped in the emotional misery and social conventions of her time. Souhami follows Eliot's original story closely for much of the book. But when Gwendolen becomes a widow, Souhami gives her a new and liberated life, one filled with friendship, adventure, and possibility. Even George Eliot purists will find something satisfying in the imagining of a much improved future for one of literature's most troubled heroines.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)