The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Volume 4

"The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Volume 4" by George Meredith is a novel written during the late 19th century. The story centers around Harry Richmond, a young man navigating the complexities of his relationships and his evolving identity as he comes of age. Themes of romance, social expectations, and personal aspirations are intertwined throughout his journey. At the start of the volume, Harry reflects on his life as he celebrates his twenty-first birthday. He grapples with familial expectations, particularly regarding his friendship with Janet Ilchester and his fascination with Princess Ottilia. The various women in Harry's life, including the boisterous Janet and the enigmatic Kiomi, illuminate his struggles with love and self-discovery. Meanwhile, his impending travels to the Continent, a customary practice for young gentlemen of his status, promise new experiences and challenges. The opening portion sets the stage for Harry's romantic entanglements, character development, and the tensions between duty and desire as he embarks on a journey of exploration both in the world and within himself. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) briefly scandalised Victorian literary circles. Of his later novels, the most enduring is The Egoist (1879), though in his lifetime his greatest success was Diana of the Crossways (1885). His novels were innovative in their attention to characters' psychology, and also portrayed social change. His style, in both poetry and prose, was noted for its syntactic complexity; Oscar Wilde likened it to "chaos illumined by brilliant flashes of lightning". Meredith was an encourager of other novelists, as well as an influence on them; among those to benefit were Robert Louis Stevenson and George Gissing. Meredith was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.