A Welsh mountaineer's daughter marries the most fashionable rake in England, and then declines to be ruined by him. Meredith's last completed novel turns the standard seduction plot inside out and hands the strength to the wife; the style is famously difficult, which is why other novelists admired him more than the public did.

A financier of enormous credit slips on a piece of orange peel on London Bridge, and the fall — social, marital, mental — takes the rest of the book. The marriage at the centre of his fortune was never legal, and everyone he entertains knows it. Meredith wrote for years as a publisher's reader, keeping other men's novels out, and his own late style here is so compressed that Stevenson called reading him a physical exercise.

Cologne in the Middle Ages: a young man, a girl, a smell of sanctity, and the Devil — Meredith's first novel and a burlesque, in which the perfume that made Cologne famous is traced to a source no one expected. He read manuscripts for a publisher for years, turning down other men's novels; this 1857 book is the one where his own style had not yet become difficult, and it is very funny.

Harry Richmond grows up between a placid English squire and a magnificent father who may be a prince of the blood or may be a confidence man, and who stages a life of such splendour that the question hardly gets asked. Meredith read manuscripts for a publisher for years, turning down other men's novels; this is his warmest book, and the father is one of the great creations in English — impossible to believe and impossible to give up.

Sir Willoughby Patterne is handsome, rich, generous and admired, and the novel is the slow, exact demonstration of what it is like to be engaged to him. Meredith's style won him more admirers among writers than readers — he worked for years as a publisher's reader — and here the difficulty pays: nobody has ever anatomised male vanity so completely, and Clara Middleton's attempts to get free are as tense as any thriller.

Milan under the Austrians, 1848: a singer at La Scala is to give the signal for the rising from the stage, and half the conspirators do not trust her because her mother was English. Meredith wrote it as a sequel to Sandra Belloni and took the revolution from Italians who had fought it; the crowd scenes are the best he ever did, and the politics are unusually adult — everyone is brave and nearly everyone is wrong.

23 Complete Works of George MeredithBeauchamps CareerCelt and Saxon, CompleteDiana of the Crossways, CompleteEssay on Comedy Comic SpiritEvan HarringtonFarinaLord Ormont and his Aminta, CompleteMiscellaneous ProseOne of Our ConquerorsRhoda FlemingSandra Belloni, CompleteThe Adventures Harry RichmondThe Amazing MarriageThe Case of General Ople and Lady CamperThe EgoistThe Entire ...

The Shaving of Shagpat isn't just George Meredith's first published novel, it's also his only foray into fantasy literature. Shagpat sold poorly in its day despite good reviews, and after its disappointing sales Meredith pursued a career as a writer of romantic fiction instead. Despite its poor financial reception, Shagpat enjoys a good modern reputation and remains a classic of fantasy literature, with George Eliot going so far as to call it a "work of genius."The book is set in t...

"Sandra Belloni" tells the story of the titular character, Sandra Belloni, an Italian-English young woman who is a central figure in the novel. The story revolves around her life, her experiences, and the challenges she faces. Like many of Meredith's novels, "Sandra Belloni" delves into the complexities of human relationships and society, often with a focus on the challenges and limitations imposed by social conventions and expectations.The novel is set against a backdrop of 19th-century E...

The Adventures of Harry Richmond Volume 1 by George Meredith is a novel about the coming-of-age of Harry Richmond, a young man who is raised by his grandfather, Squire Beltham, in the English countryside. Harry is a curious and adventurous boy, and he often finds himself in trouble. When he is twelve years old, his father, Roy Richmond, comes to claim him and takes him to live in London.Roy Richmond is a charming but irresponsible man, and he soon abandons Harry at a boarding school. Harry...

The novel tells the story of Vittoria, a young Italian patriot who is fighting for the freedom of her country from Austrian rule. Vittoria is a strong and independent woman who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She is also a skilled conspirator and a gifted leader.Vittoria falls in love with Carlo Ammiani, a young Italian officer who is also fighting for the Risorgimento. Carlo is a brave and noble man who is deeply in love with Vittoria.However, Vittoria's love for Carlo...

Diana is introduced as a witty and charming woman who is also fiercely independent. She is married to Augustus Warwick, a wealthy but dull-witted man. Diana's marriage is unhappy, and she is drawn to other men, including Lord Dannisburgh, a powerful cabinet minister.Diana's relationship with Lord Dannisburgh is both scandalous and dangerous. Diana is accused of having an affair with Dannisburgh, and her reputation is tarnished. Diana is also forced to leave her husband and child.Volume 1 e...