Evan Harrington — Volume 7

"Evan Harrington — Volume 7" by George Meredith is a novel written in the late 19th century. The narrative revolves around Evan Harrington, a young tailor navigating the intricate social dynamics of Victorian society. Central to the story are themes of identity, social standing, and romantic entanglements as Evan grapples with his place in a world that often scorns those of lower status. At the start of the novel, the setting is established in Mr. Goren's tailor shop, which serves as a refuge from the turmoil of the outside world. Evan reflects on his past heartbreak from Rose and his current burdens while interacting with Mr. Goren, the shop's proprietor. The opening reveals Evan's struggles with feelings of inadequacy and shame associated with his occupation, alongside hints of a deeper emotional narrative involving Juliana, Rose, and Caroline. The dynamics intensify as a carriage arrives, bringing a woman who has urgent news for Evan, setting the stage for a complex web of relationships and events that will unfold throughout the narrative. (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.