Felix Holt, the Radical

Felix Holt, the Radical is a social and political novel by George Eliot, published in 1866. Set in a fictional English town during the time of the 1832 Reform Act, it explores class tensions and electoral intrigue through the contrasting figures of Harold Transome, a wealthy landowner who opportunistically adopts Radical politics to win a parliamentary seat against his family’s Tory traditions, and Felix Holt, a principled working-class intellectual who champions moral reform and education for the working class over superficial political change. The narrative intertwines their ambitions with the story of Esther Lyon, stepdaughter of a nonconformist minister and secret heiress to the Transome estate, who grapples with romantic choices that symbolize broader conflicts between personal ambition, social mobility, and ethical commitment. Eliot critiques corruption across political factions, emphasizing themes of class consciousness, secular devotion, and the need for societal moral renewal beyond mere voting reforms.