The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot

By Angus Wilson

Book Overview

Meg Eliot is perhaps one of the most remarkable portraits of a middle-aged woman in English literature. She boldly debunked the dismal array of stereotypical, female characters of her day and succeeded in forging a life and role for herself beyond her fictional predecessors, influencing a generation of female readers. First published in 1958, The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot is the story of a barrister's wife who harbors a great deal of guilt over the privileged life she leads. To assuage this guilt, she occupies her time with charity committees and helping those less fortunate. However, she is forced to confront her own misfortune when she is shockingly and suddenly widowed. Learning slowly to draw on her own strenth and self-worth, Mrs Meg Eliot begins to remake herself as a woman on her own. The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot is a supremely sensitive portrayal of human perseverance and feminine determination.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140015027
• ISBN13: 9780140015027
• Release Date: August 1982
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.0" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Volunteerism

Mrs. Eliot is a volunteer at the aid to the elderly organization. She is considered a catch by the others since she is younger than the other volunteers and smart. Her first name is Meg. She is given to self-mockery. Meg is to accompany her lawyer husband Bill to Malaya for a stay of six months. She notes that Bill is starting to take his racing seriously these days. They are to give a party just prior to their departure. Meg attended the Slade with one of their guests. During a layover in one of the Asian countries Bill is shot and he dies. The bullet was aimed at a minister in the government and Bill's interference saved the man's life. Meg's brother David meets her as she deplanes in England. Her circumstances are quite reduced, although she will not be paying the gambling debts, and so she determines to seek training to be a social worker. Her plans change as the social worker at the agency where she volunteered explains to her the reality of being an employee answerable to a board of directors. Her shift in focus causes her to seek secretarial training. She is successful in the training but it is very wearing. A loss of stature results in Meg's changed relationships with people. This proves to be an interesting experience. Her various living arrangements entered into following Bill's death, however, create for Meg a good deal of stress. Her brother and his partner have a nursery. David's partner dies and Meg commences an extended visit with David. Writing on the flowers of Australia marked the end of David's academic ambitions. In the end the solution of some of the problems of David and of Meg is for the brother and sister to work on a book about eighteenth century English novelists. This book is well-written and rewarding.