George Meredith: A Primer to the Novels

The object of this primer is to help some readers of Meredith over the fence. A brief sketch of his general aims and method has been prefixed, but any exposition of his cardinal ideas must be sought elsewhere. All that has been attempted in these pages is to tell, in the bare outline of a reporter’s column, the exact course of the story and the precise facts of the narrative underlying each novel. Meredith’s style and execution often render it rather difficult for the general reader to make out what has happened or what is happening; even when his manner is not round-about or riddling, it is frequently elusive, and hardly any of the novels, I think, will be the worse for such a plain summary of its framework as this primer tries to furnish. I have therefore printed an analysis of each, adding a note or two upon the contents and construction. From this descriptive report the reader can pass on to enjoy the bright and bracing philosophy inside the story or to apply the principles of literary criticism. After some hesitation I have decided to treat the novels in chronological order. They might be grouped together, but upon the whole the advantage seems to lie with an arrangement of them in the order in which they were written and published. - James Moffatt