George Eliot documentary

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 - 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862-63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871-72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. She is known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.
George Eliot documentary
2007

[@kjmav10135]

I have read everything she ever wrote, poetry and all. In my opinion, the greatest novelist Britain ever produced. Even visited her grave at Highgate, where she’s buried on the unconsecrated side, to your left, just past the leaning angel. If you pass Karl Marx you’ve gone too far. She’s buried discretely, head to head, with George Henry Lewes. Name on the marker, Mary Ann Evans Cross.

[@tassbestwood]

“If you pass Karl Marx you’ve gone too far”. That’s my quote of the day.

[@kambrose1549]

George Eliots really got under the skin of her characters. Her books were very intense and woven through with morality. She covered such a range of characters all of whom she examined in fine detail and in a multilayered context. Truly a great writer

[@constancewalsh3646]

In an intense cycle of my life this summer, I bought for five dollars eight small volumes of some works of George Eliot, bound in calf-skin. The name George Eliot I'd known all my seventy-plus years but never read her. I plucked from my titles Daniel Deronda and, as we say, went down the rabbit hole. I was caught from the first page and so absorbed that I don't even have the desire to read more of Eliot right now. I put down Middlemarch after one page. You stop looking around around when you're in love. Thank you for this very good biography.

[@martinalenz5029]

Thank you very much, indeed for this wonderful portrait of one of the most influential English writers. I learned a lot about this extraordinary woman whose work is still relevant nowadays. Excellently done.❤

[@whspore9534]

As a local student in Southeast Asia, back in 1964, Silas Marner was one of my six textbooks on English literature. "Gold! - his own gold - brought back to him mysteriously as it had been taken away!" The face of my teacher, an American priest, glowed as he dramatized the passage. Vivid in my mind till now (2022). Thanks for the documentary telling me of the rest of GE.

[@tomthorpe5996]

"Middlemarch" in my opinion is the greatest novel ever written in English. "Daniel Deronda" and "Romola" are spectacular too.

[@emmitstewart1921]

In Canton, Ohio, a year earlier, I was reading Silas Marner in my sophomore English class. The impression of the nearly blind Silas mistaking the child's hair for his lost gold has remained in my memory, just as it has for so many others, but the reason for the child's appearance remains as well. She is the child of a rich man's castoff mistress who freezes to death outside Silas' house, and her baby, seeking any source of warmth, crawls in and falls asleep by the fireside. It is a moving illustration of the cruelty of society towards those that violate their mores. Later, the rich man, who has failed to father any children by his legal wife, after disregarding his daughter for well over a decade, shows up and tries to claim her away from the poor man who loved, supported, and raised her all those years. The book is a cry for mercy on so many levels and an exposure of so many kinds of hypocrisy in the society of the day that still lingers down to this day.

[@maryann7619]

@@emmitstewart1921 Get off the soapbox.

[@emmitstewart1921]

@@maryann7619 Sorry, but the book is a soapbox. You cannot summarize it without getting a little soap on your feet. It was, from the first page, a cry for mercy and understanding in a time when mercy and understanding were in short supply.

[@stephanebelizaire3627]

Hello, it's the same for me, but it was in the Caribbean ( Jamaica) in 1988.

[@stephenhill3286]

How did youtube know I was reading middlemarch? It's both unsettling and helpful

[@monicacall7532]

I first discovered George Eliot when I saw “Adam Bede” on Masterpiece Theater back in 1991 and was immediately hooked. After that I just had to read the rest of her books. I’ve read everything except Felix Holt and Romola but recently discovered that Project Gutenberg has both books online. For all that GE considered herself somewhere an agnostic and an atheist her books are deeply spiritual and so full of such wisdom. Every time I reread her books I find myself learning new things. My copies of the books are so marked up because there is so much wisdom in them that I have tried to remember. That is the hallmark of the very best books.

[@mamiemonrovia7654]

thanks 4 the Project Gutenberg tip!

[@anitarussum4590]

bbc v. v v v c r x g

[@stevebartley8902]

Romola is a miraculous piece. Enjoy.

[@jandrews6254]

Spirituality has absolutely nothing to do with religion, or the lack thereof. Quite the contrary

[@monicacall7532]

J Andrews I made no mention of religion at all. Many of the agnostics and atheists that I know and the atheist/agnostic authors whose works I’ve read have said that spirituality is not a characteristic that they possess.

[@Ambimom]

Middlemarch is my favorite novel of all time!

[@patriciapalmer1377]

At 9, I fell in love with Dickens, shortly my reading extended to the Brontes, Sand, Eliot, Wordsworth, Byron, et al and I loved them all. Thank you so much !!

[@lisamoag6548]

I liked that Dickens!

[@hazelwray4184]

@@lisamoag6548 That he what?

[@hazelwray4184]

@@lisamoag6548 You prefered that one to the other Dickens?

[@hazelwray4184]

@@lisamoag6548 You did then, but what about now?

[@lisamoag6548]

I haven’t read any Dickens recently but I still remember his writing and find it relevant for today. Classic Clarity. I also have found Eliot and the Brontes are delightful and Classic. Not familiar with Sands. I still read Wordsworth. I also enjoy Whitman .

[@cheri238]

I admire George Elliott's intelligence. A gifted writer. Also, a woman who challenged people's petty and brutish snobbery of her day. Thank you for this.❤️

[@drc4168]

Outstanding. I love the background music...Chopin is absolutely lovely to hear in this context.

[@donaldkelly3983]

This documentary came at the right time.I have rededicated myself to reading "big novels" including Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda. I got through Silas Marner with no problem, I never finished The Mill on the Floss.

[@outlawJosieFox]

I am sure that you will agree that Silas Marner is a little masterpiece and a good one to start with for any reader. I have loved that book since childhood.

[@monicacall7532]

The Mill on the Floss is a magnificent book and well worth finishing. Maggie Tolliver is one of my literary heroes. Each of Eliot’s books (at least her books written about the 19th century and basically during her life time) deals with issues that pertained to its particular time. In TMOTF some of the themes are the lack of educational opportunities for 19th century women who wanted to get a rigorous education vs. just being taught how to embroider beautifully, dance and sing, play the piano, speak French and generally be decorative. Maggie’s brother was given the type of education that she could only dream of, and all he wanted to do was follow his father in the milling business. Another theme ideals with unreal parental expectations for their children and the problems caused when parents try to force children into becoming someone/something that they’re not and/or following a career that the child has no desire or aptitude for. Then there is the problem of the Victorian double standard and the evils of gossip, especially in small towns and villages, that could destroy an innocent person very quickly. There was rarely any opportunity for those who were wrongly gossiped about to clear their name and reputation. Women suffered much worse than men. In a way the book reads like a Greek tragedy where the majority of the characters are mercilessly pursued by “Fate”. Through it all Maggie tries to stay true to herself and her dreams and plans for her own future.

[@maryammann8695]

@@outlawJosieFox .

[@kjmav10135]

Oh my God if you never finished Mill on the Floss you missed that ending,and the ending of Mill on the Floss is the absolute best ending I have ever read. No lie.😊

[@kjmav10135]

The ending of The Mill on the Floss is brilliant!! I was on the edge of my seat. The height of drama!

[@bruce92106]

The six part 1994 BBC television adaptation of her novel Middlemarch is what got me here -- it's avail to stream on Prime Video's BritBox. I'm only halfway through ep1 and enjoying it immensely. I don't ever remember this back in 94? Maybe too busy watching AbFab! LOL 😆

[@leonstenutz6003]

Excellent, thank you! A lovely hour invested housekeeping and reconnecting with a long-lost tender love -- literature. Thank you for creating and sharing this openly and with sensibilty, vastness, and depth. Greetings from deep in the Andes.

[@claudiavivarelli7571]

I studied and enjoyed Middlemarch for my A-levels. I’ve read it many times and it is the perfect novel. I’ve lived abroad for most of my life in beautiful settings. But England on a hot summer’s day is unbeatable, maybe because that’s where my childhood lies.

[@martiemc8398]

Read some of George Eliot Elliott works in high school. Been teaching almost 40 years now. Time to pull out George Eliot novels again.

[@Leebearify]

Truly excellent, thank you so much for such an even accounting of both her life and her books!

[@abooswalehmosafeer173]

Thank you for this most marvellous description of George Eliot life and her works.Although it will take a lifetime to complete Middlemarch,I still wish to read all her works because they seem all to be about the stuff of life and living in all its delicacies and complexities. I have really enjoyed this on this rather dull mild early spring Sunday the 17th March(Middlemarch) 2024,and now it is 1737 hrs.

[@janethayes5941]

This channel is AMAZING!

[@WilliamHorwood]

It would be hard to praise this thoughtful, well researched, perfectly narrated bio enough. I have never read George Eliot but will do so now. Gripping from start to finish the film empathically brings alive a remarkable writer and person. Unfashionably, there are spoilers in all the plot outlines, so be warned. I came to the conclusion they were needed for GE’s writing, and herself, to be understood. I will read her anyway. We don’t stop reading Dickens because we know the end! Congratulations to all the team who created this unexpected delight.

[@elisesands8803]

Any Felix Holt the Radical fans here? I love the others too but Felix Holt is really wonderful and often overlooked.

[@Tinyflydeposit]

The Mill on the Floss had a huge impact on me. Brimming with wisdom and beautifully written, I prefer George Elliott over Dickens.

[@sictransitgloriamundi1398]

A splendid writer and a life well lived. She is a credit to all women. Adam Bede, Silas Marner, The mill on the Floss, Middlemarch are masterpieces. Maybe in the other books, she overreached herself but still, they are great endeavours.

[@anneboyle6406]

Loved the story of her life and work.

[@michaelhoey9668]

what a PERSONALITY. without a doubt this lady had intelligence in her toenails and fingernails.

[@MegaToti26]

Lovely work! Thank you so much, this is such a gift!

[@TheKeyser94]

I watched a movie about George Eliot like thirty years ago with Mira Sorvino and Hugh Grant, it was during the writers crazy decade of Hollywood, where movies of Jane Austen and Shakespeare were very popular.

[@bandonoregon]

Do you remember the title, I can't find it!!?????? Thanks

[@patriciapalmer1377]

Please do one on the Mary's Wolstonecraft and Shelley, they are fascinating. Thank you.

[@megb9700]

I decided as a young girl that I should have a famous salon as George Eliot did to nurture young artists and thinkers. I have not yet achieved that goal, post Covid seems ripe for it now!

[@ritabrita9621]

Good luck with the salon

[@bandonoregon]

Wonderful! Except for "...strong free-thinking yet feminine...."! Why on earth "YET"??? Should simply be "and"!

[@richardravenclaw318]

i totally agree with you but this kind of condescending nonsense used to be thought important.

[@bandonoregon]

@@richardravenclaw318 ...and it's still out there, even if some people are careful not to say it out loud...

[@megbailey8567]

Sadly, in Victorian times, that is how women were seen.... despite the fact that Victoria herself was ... well a woman, and a strong woman at that

[@kathleenbrady9916]

Well said 😁

[@cheri238]

George Elliott, what a woman!!!! Lol

[@dilly1863]

Interesting, but found tinkling piano in the background very distracting. Would prefer no music to the choices recorded.

[@RobertSmith-fj4qc]

Must admit that I liked the music in the background.

[@andreebesseau6995]

Could you do one on george Sand.she was an intriguin woman for her time

[@roryboytube]

Middlemarch is a masterpiece and is still classed as the greatest British novel of all time. I put it up there with The brother's Karamazov & War & Peace as my three most revered novels.

[@sheilasmith7779]

How many times will the comments regarding the distraction of the music be repeated before the producers will stop adding music?

[@autumn5852]

We love the music

[@Poemsapennyeach]

Good docu. Thanks.

[@mikemcc6625]

Most excellent translator of Ludwig Feuerbach's "The Essence of Christianity". Makes one believe it was first written in English! Highly influential of Marx. Classic wonderful modern language.

[@kimmccabe1422]

So nice to know intelligence exists 2022. Thx

[@linli2970]

thank you, make me cry

[@Discovery_and_Change]

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds" - Enliven app

[@stephanebelizaire3627]

Her works can easely can be used to study and understand the 18th century British History and Psychology, same for Mr Dickens.

[@teucer_]

Needs a spoiler alert as it reveals the plot and ending of her novels.

[@Phorquieu]

Oh, Mister James, you cruel, cruel man. Cruel and unfeeling as the heartless times you lived in. Surely, the people who condemn the face of a horse must possess nothing more but the sensibility of the ass!

[@claudiavivarelli7571]

On the contrary.. he describes the most fascinating beauty of all… an uncertainty which compels the eye…

[@mementomori8685]

I like this channel.

[@dpagain2167]

When I first read the last part quote,d at the end of the documentary, it broght tearsto my eyes, it still does. I grew up in England but now live in another country.

[@jananbarbar8335]

I live in SW3 ,when I pass Cheyne Walk I see where she lived

[@malipasta1]

The portait of George Lewis must be very flattering - if accurate and he was the “ugliest man in London” what did the beautful ones look like!

[@hester1955]

Interesting documentary apart from the distracting background music!

[@mercedeslb237]

Merci infiniment pour partager!!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@beatrixpluhar8520]

♥Thanks🌷💠👍✌

[@kimmccabe1422]

Go girl! You prove once again women can be equally intelligent. Add the fact they can produce life, puts women one up

[@jandrews6254]

Unhappily, they are frequently outstripping men,which puts them in the line of fire. See Afghanistan and America

[@jandrews6254]

@marie landry feel better now? Perhaps a cup of tea would help

[@tmkevinlin]

The background music is not appropriate for the content.

[@missnellaful]

Documentaries shouldn’t have background music. I agree. Especially when it competes with the content of the story and interrupts learning.

[@johncarroll772]

The music is lovely

[@juliaforsyth8332]

The music- Beethoven?- is glorious and sets the scene.

[@adamodeo9320]

Daniel Deronda was a big influence on me

[@StevenTorrey]

Read "Silas Marner" in High School--Mt. St. Charles Academy, Woonsocket, R. i. 1963 or so....

[@AMITARAJ2001]

Henry James didn’t need to make unnecessary irrelevant personal gibes at her appearance. What an opinionated boorish man!!! Who was he to lay down the law on her looks or the quality her novels? Doesn’t her success speak for itself?

[@marthacanady9441]

I have never once read or heard anything about Henry James that makes me think well of him. He always seemed to be an extremely jealous writer.

[@amitaspoetry384]

I agree. His novels also glorify gold diggers feeding off the vulnerability of rich and dying women to exploit them.

[@krishnantampi5665]

Correction:Mary Ann Evans, gifted him with Eppie the cotton of gold🏆

[@murdochmclennan3510]

Her name was Mary Ann Evans, not Marian Evans.

[@anongif]

she changed her name as marianne evans for a while

[@elinannestad5320]

i wonder why the piano music in the background.

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

It is a fashion almost every idiot seems to copy and other idiots to enjoy!

[@johncarroll772]

The music is lovely

[@BJTubeify]

I liked the music

[@robertlevine2827]

Benjamin Disraeli was accepted as an English gentleman because his family converted to Christianity when he was a child, which he continued to practice.

[@krishnantampi5665]

Iike silas marner as the best of maru Ann Evans @George Eliot since it has great touch on the loneliness of man who found Eppie as his cotton of gold, though Duncan cass stole his gold, His brother Godfrey cass the moral ward gifte him a bonanza that is to start his own lonely life, A great story brillent presentation Best wishes I read it repeatedly to know more about han values Sky

[@krishnantampi5665]

Correction, moral coward not moral not moral ward, both mistake was due to incorrect finger☝ touch it's regretted

[@krishnantampi5665]

Moral human values, correction.

[@pipfox7834]

29:00 to come back later and watch

[@terrydefoor453]

God, I do so love a British accent.

[@philfletcher3434]

I've never read any of 'George Eliot's books and I'm hardly likely to start now unless a set was given to me in large print paperback format as me being severely sight impaired I need to hold printed matter up to my nose. But there's a gadget that reads print for you now; tho' in this instance I might just as well listen to audio books while I'm lying on my couch. I'm not that bothered really. Sorry George.

[@kjmav10135]

There are these things called audiobooks. They would open a whole new world for you. Your library can help you get classics in many audio formats.

[@philfletcher3434]

Thanks for your advice.@@kjmav10135

[@nozecone]

"This unpredictable behaviour [jumping off a balcony into the Grand Canal, in a suicide attempt] was very worrying for his new wife" ... hmmm, I suppose it would be ... !

[@bramorlock4146]

Just hit the hot part, why dose he keep hitting the anvil after he hits the hot part ?

[@nozecone]

@@joa8227 Thank you!

[@maritafistarol6969]

Lamentable..no tiene subtitulos.. No todos hablamos en ingles..

[@angustaylor5810]

I have read 5 of her books. How many spoilers are there, should I read the rest before watching this?

[@richardravenclaw318]

great books are not about plot surprises sir. you should learn to appreciate the true glory of fine writing. as been said of moby dick, the whale wins.

[@taraking5559]

He outlines the plots of Silas Marner, Mill on the Floss, Adam Bede and parts of Felix Holt and Middlemarch. He barely mentions Romola. He scarcely has time to describe the rich tapestry of each novel though, so you shouldn't be too disappointed.

[@nozecone]

@@richardravenclaw318 Darn! Now you've gone and ruined Moby Dick for me!

[@angustaylor5810]

@@richardravenclaw318 a somewhat pretentious and unhelpful reply

[@angustaylor5810]

@@taraking5559 Thanks Tara, that's helpful. Giving it a watch now!

[@MariaGazda]

This video is also Scrambled!

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

The geniuses writing here are not yet aware what makes an intellectual, male and female emotions, and more!

[@shiva2731]

40:00 to come back later to watch

[@escapefelicity2913]

fix your audio

[@theakeane]

Pity about the distracting voice, with the odd inflections, of the narrator.

[@carpenterbluechicken]

I never read George Elliot but I sure know the book The Mill and the floss. It would be fun to read it, I tell ya women were so condemned by having affairs talk about nuts when it is the seduction. But what a life! Nice documentary

[@tramainecbaynes1364]

good/

[@gangoffour1]

Adam Bede is one of the most beautifully written books in the English language. It is on my list of 10 best novels ever written. George Eliot was a genius. Best of all she was an atheist/agnostic who understood the human condition better than any preacher, priest or holy man did and does.

[@charliedrosario999]

Unfortunately; that fellow with the fire in the beginning reminds me of that propaganda you find at the end of discs of British comedy made by Universal studios and FACT.

[@ronnielynch9463]

8

[@awizenwoman]

Enjoyable but fails to cover an analysis of just how she is influenced by German literary styles.

[@darlingstuff1560]

G E gives me the creeps. Looks like a coal merchant

[@trafalgar22a8]

220423

[@richardravenclaw318]

a great writer but the goddamn music playing incessantly over the narration of this bio is almost enough to make me dislike her. whoever originally thought up this narration-music thing should be forced to be tormented with it in hell for eternity.

[@taraking5559]

Oh God, you cannot imagine how much I agree with you. It seems that unless things are ''jazzed up'' nobody will watch. It drives me insane.

[@lindsaymorris7296]

J

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

She is known for...? HE IS KNOWN...!

[@elisesands8803]

No

[@sisterkerry]

Could you be any ruder about Christianity? There was no balanced social narrative in this documentary, which is a vital component to understanding a historical person. The backdrop of Eliot's world was Christian. The vast panorama imbedded in all the crevices' of the Western world. The principles establishing the core of morality in central characters in her work. The audience is also not guided to appreciate the point that her education was provided by a Christian father, in a Christian country. Instead, Christianity is presented as intellectually backward and narrow. This misaligned view of the Faith feeds in to the modern progressive/atheist view that one has to slough off all vestiges of Christianity before any great work can be undertaken. Anyone who has an education in Christian theology has accessed a subject that contains 2,000 years of intellectual riches. Western civilisation was created and built by the Catholic Christian Church after the fall of Rome in the 5th century AD. Every aspect of the greatest civilisation ever known has been developed by Judeo-Christian principles. It is the root and branch of everything we are. Sacred Scripture is validated by the success of its practical application. It is true that in the time period in question, the Reformation began to turn Christianity inside out in earnest. Every man expected to interpret Christianity according to his own lights had thrown into relief the fact that man's lights are all to often various degrees of dim. However, the vigorous debates about Christianity still took place within the Christian paradigm. The prejudice against Christianity here was most unfortunate. Some people understand why doing so is grievously wrong.

[@richardravenclaw318]

you assume a lot. christianity has fallen far from its once ascendent position in western society and deserves as little respect now as it currently receives. there are no longer any christian theologists, intelligent people have moved on. miss eliot's work is great despite her christian faith, hardly because of it.

[@sisterkerry]

@@richardravenclaw318 I am a theologian, and I am not the only one. There are a large number of scientists who are Christians, if science is the gauge you use for assessing intelligence. I have been very clear in the points that I have made. I have made it easy to assess my comments as either facts or based on them. On the other hand, you have simply put out a couple of personal opinions that are nothing more than prejudice. George Eliot was perfectly able to reject her Christian faith, and the morality it embodies, but she didn't. Again, that is factual. The opinion you give is simply a fantasy based in anti-Christian bigotry. How sad that you think universal love is a concept that should be disrespected, and that intelligent people have rightly moved on from holding such a sovereign principle.

[@sonnyroy497]

Don't be so sensitive.

[@richardravenclaw318]

@@sisterkerry ok, i'll keep it short. christianity is a body hating death cult and that's putting it politely. remember the centuries when the christians could execute all their enemies? there's your "love."

[@mamiemonrovia7654]

that thumb goes both ways. 4 god's sake get a grip, u sound like a troll. Christianity u say? why the Catholic outfit?

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL I WAS 76 TO LEARN THAT TRANSGENDER GEORGE ELIOT WAS NOT GEORGE ELIOT!

[@virginiawelzenbach6941]

Not transgender.

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

@@virginiawelzenbach6941 A woman posing as a man (like George Sand) not a TRANS GENDER?

[@virginiawelzenbach6941]

No, not transgender. I have worked with transgenders. She took a male name to get published because it was much easier to get published. She lived as a woman in a woman's body.

[@elinannestad5320]

@@virginiawelzenbach6941 honestly we will never know how it was with her. Or anyone else.

[@BAFREMAUXSOORMALLY]

@@virginiawelzenbach6941 The truth is that civilised Europe did not want woman authors, so they had to pose as males! I was just being ironical, but I never knew that Eliot was a woman, which was not fair on our intellect! Anyway, I DESPISE, do not like "transgenders", "transhumans", and more of the kind! Do we have such creatures amongst cats, dogs, pigs, paramecia, trees...?

[@carpenterbluechicken]

I never read George Elliot but I sure know the book The Mill and the floss. It would be fun to read it, I tell ya women were so condemned by having affairs talk about nuts when it is the seduction. But what a life! Nice documentary