Diana of the Crossways — Complete (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Victorian Feminist Novel of Identity, Women's Rights, and Defiance in Patriarchal EnglandBy George Meredith
Length17h 20m
About this audiobook
George Meredith's Diana of the Crossways (1885) is a sophisticated Victorian novel of passion, politics, and intellectual independence. Its heroine, Diana Warwick, is a brilliant, socially unconventional woman whose disastrous marriage and subsequent relationships expose the legal and moral restrictions imposed upon women. Moving between drawing-room society, journalism, and parliamentary intrigue, the narrative combines psychological analysis with Meredith's characteristic verbal brilliance: compressed wit, elaborate imagery, shifting irony, and densely reflective prose. The novel belongs to the tradition of the "New Woman" debate while also extending the social-problem novel into a more experimental, conversational, and politically alert form. Its treatment of divorce, reputation, sexual double standards, and the circulation of political information gives the work both historical specificity and enduring relevance. Meredith, a major Victorian poet, novelist, and literary critic, brought to fiction an unusual union of philosophical speculation, comic observation, and poetic language. His own experience of marital breakdown, literary controversy, and the intensely managed reputations of public life informed his interest in the precarious position of intelligent women within patriarchal society. Diana's vitality and vulnerability also reflect Meredith's broader artistic concern with emotional growth: he portrays maturity not as submission to convention, but as the difficult achievement of self-knowledge and ethical freedom. The novel's political atmosphere further reveals his engagement with the reformist energies and anxieties of late nineteenth-century Britain. Diana of the Crossways is especially recommended to readers interested in Victorian gender politics, women's authorship, political fiction, and the development of modern psychological narrative. Those prepared for Meredith's demanding syntax and luxuriant style will find a work richly rewarded by attentive reading. Its heroine remains compelling because she is neither a simple rebel nor an idealized victim, but an intelligent, fallible person negotiating love, power, and public judgment. This complete edition offers an illuminating encounter with one of Meredith's most ambitious examinations of freedom, reputation, and the costs of independence.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.6 (2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length17 hrs 20 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 13, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Diana of the Crossways — Complete (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5CHAPTER I. OF DIARIES AND DIARISTS TOUCHING THE HEROINE
Show all chaptersShow less
6CHAPTER II. AN IRISH BALL.
7CHAPTER III. THE INTERIOR OF MR. REDWORTH, AND THE EXTERIOR OF MR. SULLIVAN SMITH
8CHAPTER IV. CONTAINING HINTS OF DIANA'S EXPERIENCES AND OF WHAT THEY LED TO
9CHAPTER V. CONCERNING THE SCRUPULOUS GENTLEMAN WHO CAME TOO LATE
10CHAPTER VI. THE COUPLE
11CHAPTER VII. THE CRISIS
12CHAPTER VIII. IN WHICH IS EXHIBITED HOW A PRACTICAL MAN AND A DIVINING WOMAN LEARN TO RESPECT ONE ANOTHER
13'You see, you are my crutch,' Lady Dunstane said to him,—raising the stick in reminder of the present.
14CHAPTER IX. SHOWS HOW A POSITION OF DELICACY FOR A LADY AND GENTLEMAN WAS MET IN SIMPLE FASHION WITHOUT HURT TO EITHER
15CHAPTER X. THE CONFLICT OF THE NIGHT
16Her brain was a steam-wheel throughout the night; everything that could be thought of was tossed, nothing grasped.
17CHAPTER XI. RECOUNTS THE JOURNEY IN A CHARIOT, WITH A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DIALOGUE, AND A SMALL INCIDENT ON THE ROAD
18CHAPTER XII. BETWEEN EMMA AND DIANA
19CHAPTER XIII. TOUCHING THE FIRST DAYS OF HER PROBATION
20CHAPTER XIV. GIVING GLIMPSES OF DIANA UNDER HER CLOUD BEFORE THE WORLD AND OF HER FURTHER APPRENTICESHIP
21CHAPTER XV. INTRODUCES THE HON. PERCY DACIER
22CHAPTER XVI. TREATS OF A MIDNIGHT BELL, AND OF A SCENE OF EARLY MORNING
23CHAPTER XVII. 'THE PRINCESS EGERIA'
24CHAPTER XVIII. THE AUTHORESS
25CHAPTER XIX. A DRIVE IN SUNLIGHT AND A DRIVE IN MOONLIGHT
26The fatal time to come for her was in the Summer of that year.
27CHAPTER XX. DIANA A NIGHT-WATCH IN THE CHAMBER OF DEATH
28He stepped into the room, and thrilled to hear the quiet voice beside the bed: 'Who is it?'
29CHAPTER XXI. 'THE YOUNG MINISTER OF STATE'
30CHAPTER XXII. BETWEEN DIANA AND DACIER: THE WIND EAST OVER BLEAK LAND
31CHAPTER XXIII. RECORDS A VISIT TO DIANA FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S GOOD WOMEN
32CHAPTER XXIV. INDICATES A SOUL PREPARED FOR DESPERATION
33CHAPTER XXV. ONCE MORE THE CROSSWAYS AND A CHANGE OF TURNINGS
34CHAPTER XXVI. IN WHICH A DISAPPOINTED LOVER RECEIVES A MULTITUDE OF LESSONS
35CHAPTER XXVII. CONTAINS MATTER FOR SUBSEQUENT EXPLOSION
36CHAPTER XXVIII. DIALOGUE ROUND THE SUBJECT OF A PORTRAIT, WITH SOME INDICATIONS OF THE TASK FOR DIANA
37CHAPTER XXIX. SHOWS THE APPROACHES OF THE POLITICAL AND THE DOMESTIC CRISIS IN COMPANY
38CHAPTER XXX. IN WHICH THERE IS A TASTE OF A LITTLE DINNER AND AN AFTERTASTE
39CHAPTER XXXI. A CHAPTER CONTAINING GREAT POLITICAL NEWS AND THEREWITH AN INTRUSION OF THE LOVE-GOD
40Dacier was pacing about the drawing-room, as in a place too narrow for him.
41CHAPTER XXXII. WHEREIN WE BEHOLD A GIDDY TURN AT THE SPECTRAL CROSSWAYS
42Danvers accompanied Mr. Dacier to the house-door. Climbing the stairs, she found her mistress in the drawing-room still.
43CHAPTER XXXIII. EXHIBITS THE SPRINGING OF A MINE IN A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
44CHAPTER XXXIV. IN WHICH IT IS DARKLY SEEN HOW THE CRIMINAL'S JUDGE MAY BE LOVE'S CRIMINAL.
45CHAPTER XXXV. REVEALS HOW THE TRUE HEROINE OF ROMANCE COMES FINALLY TO HER, TIME OF TRIUMPH
46CHAPTER XXXVI. IS CONCLUSIVE AS TO THE HEARTLESSNESS OF WOMEN WITH BRAINS
47CHAPTER XXXVII. AN EXHIBITION OF SOME CHAMPIONS OF THE STRICKEN LADY
48CHAPTER XXXVIII. CONVALESCENCE OF A HEALTHY MIND DISTRAUGHT
49CHAPTER XXXIX. OF NATURE WITH ONE OF HER CULTIVATED DAUGHTERS AND A SHORT EXCURSION IN ANTI-CLIMAX
50CHAPTER XL. IN WHICH WE SEE NATURE MAKING OF A WOMAN A MAID AGAIN, AND A THRICE WHIMSICAL
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