Angus Wilson, The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot

Marina MacKay (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1958

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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When the novel opens, Meg Eliot is the wealthy, clever, wife of a successful corporate lawyer. Unemployed and childless, she occupies her time with porcelain, highbrow literature and charitable works. However, when tragedy strikes, and her husband is the accidental victim of a botched political assassination in the Far East, Mrs Eliot must rebuild her life in London alone and poor. Her husband, she discovers, has bequeathed her nothing but debts from his irresponsible professional gambling.

Tormented by memories of her mother's incompetence, Mrs Eliot is determined to attain economic security so she trains to become a secretary. Rejected by her former social group, she attempts to salvage friendships that pre-date her years of plenty but is unsuccessful because her old friends try to

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392 words

Citation: MacKay, Marina. "The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=159, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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