Shows / The George Meredith Library
The George Meredith Library
The George Meredith Library invites the thoughtful traveller into a world where wit is keener than the sword, love is no idle dream, and the heart must learn wisdom through its own misadventures. Here are the complete works of George Meredith, read aloud in full: novels of sparkling conversation, searching comedy, and characters whose follies are as recognisable today as when they first walked the page.
Come by the garden gate, follow the winding hedge, and listen as pride, passion, laughter…
Episodes
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XXI
In which the restless vigil of Miss Middleton reveals the fierce turmoil of a sensitive mind wrestling with submission, duty, and the sharp distinctions of her…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XX
In which the venerable Dr. Middleton, a man of classical learning and keen taste, finds solace and spirited companionship in the depths of an ancestral wine…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XIX
In which Miss Middleton wrestles with a sudden, resolute impulse to seek immediate change and relief from her own restlessness, navigating the delicate trials…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XVIII
In which the fair and spirited Clara, radiant yet restlessly capricious, engages in a lively encounter that reveals undercurrents of tension and delicate…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XVII
In which Sir Willoughby, sustained anew by the company of Mrs. Mountstuart Jenkinson, rehearses the delicate arts of social charm and self-protection while…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XVI
In which Miss Middleton grapples with the burden of an unwanted engagement, revealing her inner turmoil and candid reflections on love, freedom, and the nature…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XV
In which the delicate tensions of social and personal engagements come to bear upon a household, as Clara wrestles with her feelings of duty, affection, and…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XIV
In which the reflective Sir Willoughby contemplates the delicate balance of possession and freedom within human relationships, particularly his complex bond…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XIII
In which Clara navigates the complex interplay of social graces and unspoken tensions amidst the arrival of Miss Dale and Sir Willoughby's deliberate…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XII
In which Vernon Whitford, roused from a fleeting reverie, engages in a lively and thoughtful discourse with Miss Middleton as they stroll through a landscape…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter XI
In which Sir Willoughby endeavours to forestall the unsettling of family stability by counsels against Vernon's plans to leave for London, whilst an uneasy…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter X
In which the intricate manoeuvres of affection and duty unfold amidst the genteel confines of Patterne Hall, as Sir Willoughby plots to secure the bonds of his…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter IX
In which the delicate intricacies of affection and authority weave through the dealings of young Crossjay’s education and social positioning, as Clara…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter VIII
In which the spirited interplay between Miss Middleton and young Crossjay reveals a tender mingling of youthful ardour and instructive affection, with the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter VII
In which the subtle frictions of a prolonged courtship reveal the tender but troubled landscape of Miss Middleton’s hopes and memories, as she confronts the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter VI
In which the lovers grapple with contrasting views on the world—his disdainful retreat into a sacred bower of exclusive love clashing with her tender but…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter V
In which the spirited courtship of Sir Willoughby Patterne unfolds amidst the eager competition for Miss Middleton’s hand, revealing a delicate balance of…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter IV
In which we witness the muted endurance of gentle souls amid unspoken sorrows and the return of a worldly knight whose distant travels and letters reveal…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter III
In which the county buzzes with matrimonial speculation concerning the eligible Sir Willoughby Patterne, torn between the advantageous allure of Miss…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter II
In which the razor-sharp insight of Mrs. Mountstuart Jenkinson gently unsheathes a singular impression upon the county’s youthful beau, Sir Willoughby, whose…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Chapter I
In which the origins and ambitions of the Patterne family are duly noted, with a particular focus on young Sir Willoughby’s admiration for his valiant but…
- The George Meredith Library
The Egoist Prelude
In which a Socratic reflection on the nature of comedy sets the stage for an exploration of human egoism, presenting it as a vast and ancient tome filled with…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 45 - Lady Blandish to Austin Wentworth
In which the sombre consequences of a grievous duel unfold amidst the harshness of scientific detachment and tender human sympathy, revealing a family torn by…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 44 - The Last Scene
In which the watchful gathering at Raynham House waits with mounting anxiety for the return of the young heir, whose arrival brings a mingling of joy, anguish…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 43 - Again the Magian Conflict
In which the homeward journey of Richard Feverel stirs tender intimacies and patient hopes at Raynham, where Lucy’s maternal virtues and Mrs. Berry’s earthy…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 42 - Nature Speaks
In which a young man wrestles with the fierce temptations of passion and the shadowy consequences of his choices, finding refuge and complex companionship in…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 41 - Austin Returns
In which the return of an old friend stirs reflections upon the fortunes and follies of the Feverel family, casting light on the tender yet troubled beginnings…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 40 - Clare’s Diary
In which Sir Austin Feverel returns to London with a heart half softened by paternal affection yet still bound by his formidable System, and attempts to…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 39 - The Little Bird and the Falcon; a Berry to the Rescue!
In which a great nobleman, wrestling with emotions and scruples, seeks the companionship of a young and innocent lady in lonely exile, while her devoted old…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 38 - An Enchantress
In which the young Richard Feverel grapples with the complex entanglements of family duty, society’s judgments, and an unlikely companionship with a spirited…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 37 - Mrs - Berry on Matrimony
In which the young hero, Richard, wrestles with the tangled duties of love and filial obedience, while Mrs. Berry, a figure at once tender and candid, lays…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 36 - A Dinner-Party at Richmond
In which the dashing and audacious presence of a striking lady draws the keen eye of a young gentleman, whose restless spirit navigates the tangled web of…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 35 - Clare’s Marriage
In which a briskly arranged marriage binds young Clare to the unremarkable John Todhunter, under the determined direction of her mother, Mrs. Doria, whose…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 34 - Conquest of an Epicure
In which the young bridal pair, radiant and rightly devoted to one another in the flush of their summer happiness, navigate the complex ties that bind them to…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 33: Norsing The Devil
In which the philosophical Sir Austin faces the bitter trial of his System’s failure embodied in his son’s human frailty, wrestling with grief and…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 32 - Procession of the Cake
In which the wise and observant Adrian contemplates the curious human follies surrounding the sudden marriage of his cousin Richard, carrying with him the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 31 - The Philosopher Appears in Person
In which Mrs. Berry, caught in the throes of a morning’s unexpected matrimony and the aftermath of a revelrous wedding breakfast, wrestles with her conscience…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 30 - Celebrates the Breakfast
In which a young bride wrestles with the sombre weight of wearing another woman’s wedding-ring, her tearful heart veiled by steadfast resolve and silent…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 29 - In which the Last Act of a Comedy Takes the Place of the First
In which the young Richard Feverel stands firmly on the threshold of manhood, engaged in the singular crossing of his own moral Rubicon, buoyed by the promise…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 28 - Relates How Preparations for Action Were Conducted Under the April of Lovers
In which the tender, unwavering devotion of an unassuming admirer is observed alongside the fledgling happiness and anxious preparations surrounding a young…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 27 - Contains an Intercession for the Heroine
In which the tender turmoil of youthful love is laid bare, as a fair girl wrestles with the potent, bewildering force of her own heart and its reckless…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 26 - Records the Rapid Development of the Hero
In which a young gentleman named Ripton is drawn into a clandestine errand involving mysterious lodgings for a lady, leading him through London’s streets and…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 25 - In which the Hero Takes a Step
In which the season of Spring stirs tender hopes and tentative plans as Richard, accompanied by his ailing uncle Hippias, embarks upon a journey to London…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 24 - Of the Spring Primrose and the Autumnal
In which the young Experiment, having undergone a profound and sobering change, returns to Raynham bearing the chill of lost love and a serene resolve to…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 23 - Crisis in the Apple-Disease
In which a night’s vigil and a visit to Farmer Blaize reveal the painful absence of a cherished presence, and a solemn agreement to await the return in spring…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 22 - Indicates the Approaches of Fever
In which young Richard passes three weeks in the metropolis, enduring the austere tutelage of the System and troubled by the absence of tender letters from his…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 21 - Richard is Summoned to Town to Hear a Sermon
In which a tide of paternal solicitude and prudent caution ebbs and flows between Sir Austin and his ardent son, as the young man's rebellious spirit meets the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 20 - Celebrates the Time-Honoured Treatment of a Dragon by the Hero
In which the wise youth Adrian observes the tender and earnest courtship of his pupil Richard, illumined by the gentle light of moonlit meetings and guarded…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 19 - A Diversion Played on a Penny-Whistle
In which the reader is ushered into a sun-dappled woodland where love, pure and unadorned by artifice, softly blooms between Richard and Lucy amidst the serene…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 18 - The System Encounters the Wild Oats Special Plea
In which Sir Austin Feverel, the reclusive baronet with a resolute principle for purity, seeks a suitable bride for his only son amidst a society endorsing the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 17 - Good Wine and Good Blood
In which Sir Austin Feverel and his solicitor, Mr. Thompson, engage in a grave discourse upon the corruptions and moral decay besetting youth, symbolised by…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 16 - Unmasking of Master Ripton Thompson
In which Sir Austin Blandish arrives in London with a somber resolve to oversee the upbringing and character of his son, entrusting a young clerk named Ripton…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 15 - Ferdinand and Miranda
In which a young gentleman, transported to a wondrous riverside meadow, encounters a radiant and mysterious lady whose presence enchants his soul and sparks a…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 14 - An Attraction
In which the Magnetic Youth awakens to the intoxicating realm of first love, his heart galloping through dreams and dawn as his consciousness expands to the…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 13 - The Magnetic Age
In which the austere household at Raynham braces against the perils of love with strict discipline while Lady Blandish and Sir Austin exchange a delicate…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 12 - The Blossoming Season
In which the mysterious spectres that troubled Raynham are laid to rest through reason and quiet sacrifice, while amid the tender unfolding of boyhood, Sir…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 11 - In which the Last Act of the Bakewell Comedy is Closed in a Letter
In which Master Ripton Thompson is afflicted by a heavy conscience over the misdeeds in which he has been involved, suffering inward torment and secret…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 10 - Richard Passes Through His Preliminary Ordeal, and is the Occasion of an Aphorism
In which young Richard wrestles with the heavy burden of his own imperfect nature and the bitter consequences of youthful mistakes, while Sir Austin, embodying…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 9 - A Fine Distinction
In which a sturdy, slow-witted thrashing man known as the Bantam becomes an uneasy witness in a dispute concerning a fire at Belthorpe farm, his muddled…
- The George Meredith Library
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel 8 - The Bitter Cup
In which a measured Farmer Blaize, steadfast in his principles and respect for law above rank, receives successive visits from the Feverel gentlemen…