The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of a Father and Son

Meredith, George, 1828-1909Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.1
Word count
994K words
Chapters
100

Tags

English Originals Foreign Literature Fate and FortuneHuman NaturePsychological InsightGrowing UpMoral Dilemma

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of a Father and Son by George MeredithAuthor: Meredith, George, 1828-1909,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 5, 2011

Editor's review

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel is an important early novel by George Meredith, and its subtitle makes clear its core: the history of a father-son relationship. The novel revolves around a father who shapes his son according to his own educational ideals but meets defeat before reality and emotion, carrying clear overtones of educational reflection and generational conflict. Meredith's style is witty and sharply satirical, and the narration often includes aphoristic commentary, which is both a highlight and a barrier. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain electronic edition, it is suitable for understanding where the "novel of education" and the father-son theme intersect in Victorian fiction. Readers concerned with family relationships and the consequences of educational ideas, or wishing to examine the diversity of English narrative style, will find this book worth close reading; those seeking only light storytelling may find the pace slowed by its discursive prose.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the opening chapters first and adjust to the author's satirical tone and discursive rhythm before continuing.
  2. While reading, note how the father's educational ideas gradually influence his son's choices.
  3. Consult background material on Victorian educational ideas to aid understanding.
  4. Do not get bogged down in every word of long discursive passages; keep hold of the main line of character relationships.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
  82. 82
  83. 83
  84. 84
  85. 85
  86. 86
  87. 87
  88. 88
  89. 89
  90. 90
  91. 91
  92. 92
  93. 93
  94. 94
  95. 95
  96. 96
  97. 97
  98. 98
  99. 99
  100. 100

FAQ

What is the core theme of this novel? The core is the father's educational experiment on his son and its consequences, involving educational ideas, generational conflict, and emotional growth. Through the father-son relationship, the novel shows the frustration of idealistic education in reality, with a reflective and satirical tone.
Is Meredith's style difficult to read? It is somewhat difficult. He often uses irony, aphorism, and discursive insertions, and the narration is not always straightforward. Readers accustomed to traditional plot-driven novels may need time to adjust, but once adjusted they can feel his distinctive wit and speculative quality.
Does this edition have notes or an introduction? According to the given information, this edition is a public-domain English electronic text released by Project Gutenberg, with no mention of accompanying notes or introduction. For background material, consult relevant literary histories or scholarly literature separately.

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About the author

Meredith, George, 1828-1909 Author

George Meredith (1828–1909) was a nineteenth-century British novelist and poet, whose works are represented here by as many as 111 titles, indicating that his writing has continued to circulate among readers and researchers. His representative work, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, centers on a father-son relationship and examines the conflicts of pride and emotion in a young man's growth; The Egoist, subtitled “A Comedy in Narrative,” uses marriage and social situations to portray character weaknesses and self-reflection. His novels are often marked by witty dialogue, psychological insight, and an ironic tone, with plot and character relationships unfolding layer by layer. Public information is limited, and biographical details remain to be supplemented, but the existing bibliography shows that narrative novels and multi-volume series form the main body of his work, reflecting the Victorian novel's detailed exploration of individual morality and emotional life.