Publishers Weekly
06/05/2023
In this captivating biography, Carlisle (Spinoza’s Religion), a philosophy professor at King’s College London, illuminates how the work of British novelist George Eliot (1819–1880) blossomed during her unsanctioned “marriage” to writer George Henry Lewes, who was already married to another woman with whom he had three children. Lewes and his wife were no longer living together when he eloped with the 34-year-old Eliot, scandalizing Victorian society. As Carlisle shows, what Eliot lost in respectability she gained in a life partner who encouraged her to become a novelist (not least because they needed the money) and acted as her de facto literary agent. Carlisle focuses on their “intellectual collaboration” and mutual devotion to each other, noting that Eliot supported Lewes’s scientific work as well as his wife and sons with the income from her successful novels Adam Bede and Middlemarch, while he was “steadfastly cheerful through her recurrent depressions, relentlessly encouraging through her self-doubt.” Carlisle’s cogent prose brings Eliot’s story to life, and astute literary analysis shows how Eliot’s biography influenced her novels; for example, Carlisle argues that in Middlemarch, the Brooke sisters’ “deep philosophical difference between idealism and empiricism” coupled with “mutual love” reflects Eliot’s dynamic with Lewes. This is a must for devotees of Victorian literature. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"Eloquent and original . . . [Carlisle] combines a biographer’s eye for stories with a philosopher’s nose for questions . . . Masterly and enriching . . . The ideal historian [of marriage] will need great tact and an impious curiosity. Carlisle has both." —James Wood, The New Yorker
"Carlisle conveys [Eliot's] shades of emotion and temperament while expertly charting both the intellectual and artistic development of her subject and the dramas that beset Eliot’s personal life. With formidable erudition and insight, this sympathetic author paints her own memorable portrait of the soft-spoken woman who quietly revolutionized the English novel—and who scandalized society by never marrying her husband . . . [Carlisle] shrewdly illuminates Eliot’s consciousness and, in turn, her fiction." —Anna Mundow, The Wall Street Journal
"Careful but impassioned . . . [Carlisle's biography] is different in its close focus on an idea: that the titular institution shaped Eliot’s identity and work . . . One need not have read all [Eliot's] works to appreciate The Marriage Question, but, in the most meta sense, it is an ideal companion volume." —Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times
"A fascinating new biography . . . Carlisle is an empathetic and ambitious interpreter. She delves beneath the surface of marriage in Eliot’s novels, finding a world that hums with big questions—about 'desire, freedom, selfhood, change, morality, happiness, belief, the mystery of other minds.'" —Ann Hulbert, The Atlantic
"Brilliant . . . [Carlisle] guides us, by way of biography, philosophy, literary interpretation, literary history, and the histories of art and religion, through a profound consideration of Eliot’s unconventional “marriage,” and how that emotional—and, in many ways, strategic—choice influenced her life and career . . . Ultimately, Carlisle’s thoughtful, comprehensive account of this particular liaison exquisitely probes the complex, thorny, and fascinating question: How much does our choice of partner determine who we ultimately become?" —Jenny McPhee, Air Mail
"Fascinating . . . Carlisle’s reading of Eliot’s marriage informs and imbues her reading of the novels. As a biographer, Carlisle does not seek to draw parallels between Eliot’s life and art or to establish her fiction’s autobiographical roots. Rather, she probes how Eliot’s experience of marriage played out across her books and her life—how it shaped the concerns she interrogated through her fiction." —Francesca Wade, The Nation
"Eliot’s imaginative attraction to violently cruel and thwarting marriages, in contrast with her personal investment in a trustful, lasting intimacy, is a fascinating paradox that Clare Carlisle’s interesting book sets out to investigate . . . Carlisle aims to turn George Eliot’s real and fictional marriages into an examination of her philosophy of life . . . [Carlisle's] philosophical approach provides a clear guide to the workings of the novelist’s mind." —Hermione Lee, New York Review of Books
"A wonderfully intimate portrait [of marriage]. Eliot described her marriage as 'this double life, which helps me to feel and think with double strength.' Carlisle’s captivating biography brilliantly examines that life and how those feelings and thoughts produced a run of remarkable novels that 'still open our eyes and stretch our souls.'" —Malcolm Forbes, Washington Examiner
"A deep examination of long partnership—how it affects us, how it is negotiated . . . Carlisle has written a book that seems to tell us a story about others but instead deeply informs us about ourselves." —Anna Spydell, BookPage
"A richly textured and absorbing biographical study Carlisle’s intense, empathetic study reflects Eliot back to us, echoes her and rises up to meet her in order to give Eliot her philosophical due." —Marina Benjamin, Prospect
"Carlisle, a brilliant philosophical mind herself, is perfectly matched to her subject here. The kind of book you savor page by page." —Sophia Stewart, The Millions
"A dazzling intellectual prism . . . Presenting revelatory glimpses into her subject's social and domestic life, Carlisle employs biography as a philosophical enquiry into the Victorian author's romantic life, her craft, and her characteristic use of marriage plots as a literary device . . . The Marriage Question is an eloquent, elegant tribute to the brilliant Victorian novelist who gave voice to hidden female fears and desires." —Shahina Piyarali, Shelf Awareness
"A highly illuminating portrait of the acclaimed writer’s evolution as a novelist and a wife . . . Carlisle’s ability to distill and connect ideas from such disparate fields as philosophy, theology, and literary analysis only brings Eliot into tighter focus . . . Fans of literary history will savor this book. Carlisle’s empathetic exploration of a unique relationship provides a clear lens through which to view Eliot’s life and work." —Kirkus
"Captivating . . . Carlisle’s cogent prose brings Eliot’s story to life, and astute literary analysis shows how Eliot’s biography influenced her novels . . . This is a must for devotees of Victorian literature." —Publishers Weekly
"Clare Carlisle's The Marriage Question is the best book I've read on George Eliot." —John Carey, Sunday Times (UK)
"Magisterial . . . a book that triumphantly enlarges our understanding of [Eliot], and of her time." —Kathy O’Shaughnessy, Financial Times (UK)
"Finally, Eliot has got the biographer she deserves, namely an ardent and eloquent feminist philosopher who shows us how and why Eliot's books, rightly read, are as philosophically profound as any treatise written by a man." —Stuart Jeffries, The Observer (UK)
"Thrilling . . . Frankly brilliant . . . In her introduction to The Marriage Question, Carlisle speaks of wanting to employ biography as philosophical inquiry and here she succeeds magnificently. With great skill and delicacy she has filleted details from Eliot’s own life, read closely into her wonderful novels and, most importantly, considered the wider philosophical background in which she was operating." —Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian (UK)
"A richly considered study that brings one close to the heart and mind of a great writer and a wise soul." —Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph (UK)
"Like her subject, Carlisle conveys the fruits of her studies and reflection with a light, sometimes even lyrical touch." —Jacqueline Banerjee, The Times Literary Supplement (UK)
“A luminously warm and intelligent reading of the courageous life, writing and philosophy of the 19th century’s wisest novelist.”—Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
“As subtle and silent as a Dutch still life . . . Beautifully balancing literary interpretation with biographical and philosophical reflection, Carlisle explores the gamble of yoking your happiness to “the open-endedness of another human being.’”—Frances Wilson, Daily Telegraph
“[Carlisle] carves out a space somewhere between biography and literary criticism in a most satisfying way. Carlisle is a philosopher and reads Eliot like an expert witness, recreating her dynamic, ambitious reading and lifelong commitment to intellectual growth and showing its impact in and out of the novels. It finds another layer of Eliot to contemplate and admire, and is thoroughly absorbing.”—Claire Harman, The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year
“Its grander subject isn’t just that suggested by its title—what women, in particular, stand to gain and lose in marriage—but also what it means to lead the moral, rewarding life in general. With this and her previous book on Søren Kierkegaard, Carlisle has confirmed herself as one of the most deep-thinking writers about deep thought.”—Prospect, Books of the Year
“[A] thoughtful book . . . a clear-eyed, if slightly melancholy, portrait of one of our finest novelists.” —The Times, Books of the Year
“Gripping and insightful . . . A brilliant aspect of this book is that Carlisle takes us deep into the world of each of Eliot’s novels, reminding us what masterpieces they are.” —Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Daily Mail
“Clare Carlisle brings the work of perhaps our finest English novelist into a brilliant new light. This book manages to be both engrossing and rigorous, inhabiting an intimate and expansive vision of creativity and the lived life. Following the pulsing and ever-vital questions of love, desire, compromise and companionship, The Marriage Question is both a thrilling work on Eliot and a probing, illuminating reflection on modern love.” —Seán Hewitt, author of Rapture’s Road
"Carlisle, a seasoned researcher, biographer, and philosopher, wisely emulates Eliot’s own reluctance to make definitive pronouncements . . . A brilliant and important biography." —Beverley Park Rilett, The George Eliot Review
Library Journal
07/01/2023
Carlisle (philosophy, King's College London; Spinoza's Religion) presents a focused narrative on the distinguished life of English novelist George Eliot (1819–80). Eliot was the pen name for Mary Ann Evans, and she was celebrated as soon as she published her debut novel, Adam Bede. Carlisle's book focuses on the unconventional approach to a loving relationship that Eliot followed during a particularly conservative time period in English society. When she met writer and philosopher George Henry Lewes through her social circle, the two became intimate partners and lived together for nearly 25 years. But Lewes was still married during that time and unable to get a divorce, which eventually left Eliot ostracized from "polite society." Carlisle explores, in depth, themes of philosophy and marriage in Eliot's art and life, highlighting dynamics like desire and morality, in a book that combines biography, philosophy, history, and literary interpretation. A listing of illustrations, which includes rare copies of photographs and manuscripts, is a bonus. VERDICT An intriguing study of Eliot's complex and ambiguous life and work as it relates to the institution of marriage. Ideal for literary and philosophy scholars.—Gary Medina
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-04
A highly illuminating portrait of the acclaimed writer’s evolution as a novelist and a wife.
Carlisle, a professor of philosophy and author of Spinoza’s Religion and Philosopher of the Heart, digs into the unconventional relationship between George Eliot, who was born Mary Ann Evans, and her life partner, George Lewes. “How,” asks Carlisle, “does [the couple’s] defiantly idealized public image connect to the very dark marital interiors portrayed in [Eliot’s] novels, with their recurring scenes of ambivalence, brutality and disappointment? Do these scenes retaliate against the moralism that condemned their author, by smashing the façade of respectable marriage?” If this material sounds too dry or overly academic, not to worry. Carlisle’s ability to distill and connect ideas from such disparate fields as philosophy, theology, and literary analysis only brings Eliot into tighter focus. In addition to examining Eliot’s relationship with Lewes, Carlisle shows her in her artistic element, visiting with such luminaries as Herbert Spencer, Thomas and Jane Carlyle, George Sand, and Franz Liszt. As the author capably demonstrates, Eliot was determined to break away from the strictures of 19th-century British life and lead the fullest possible creative and emotional life. Much of this was made possible by Lewes, who, Carlisle reminds us, exerted abundant energy in buoying her up. “He was steadfastly cheerful,” writes the author, “through her recurrent depressions, relentlessly encouraging through her self-doubt,” and “putting her work before his own…became a daily practice of devotion.” Carlisle’s descriptions of both Eliot and Lewes are engaging throughout. Regarding the latter: “Vigorous, bright, tenacious, not inclined to doubt or nuance: his personality flowed into his literary style….With his scruffy charm, dubious past, literary connections and bold ideas, he had a racy glamour.” Fans of literary history will savor this book.
Carlisle’s empathetic exploration of a unique relationship provides a clear lens through which to view Eliot’s life and work.
