The “ordeal” that young Richard must endure in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel is “The System” under which his father is raising him. Sir Austin Feverel is a self-declared “Scientific Humanist” (whatever that is) who is disappointed in his own marriage after his wife leaves him to run off with a poet

'An Age of betty tit for tat,
An Age of busy gabble:
An Age that's like a brewer's vat,
Fermenting for the rabble!

'An Age that's chaste in Love, but lax
To virtuous abuses:
Whose gentlemen and ladies wax
Too dainty for their uses.

'An Age that drives an Iron Horse,
Of Time and Space defiant;
Exult

Note: there are two versions of this novel, one from 1859 and the 1878 revision(one used in modern editions of the novel).

Other than that this is a great story and the novel that features the most adventure in any of Meredith’s works.

Richard Feverel is the darling child of a nobleman, Sir Austin, whose life has been warped by his wife running off with his best friend, a poet to whom he gave house-room. He determines that Richard will not share the same fate, and educates him according to a comprehensive 'System' of manners and r

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel is a Victorian bildungsroman that follows the early life of an heir raised and educated according to a "System" of his father's devising. When I heard about the book, it was described as a philosophical novel, and it is so in the best sense: the characters are motivated

This was my most enjoyable experience of classic literature in some time. I'm amazed at how Meredith wrote such unapologetically glowing prose that manages to be fanciful while still presenting a realistic, believable story. He imbues every line with wit and grace, and most importantly, a healthy se

More people should read George Meredith. This is insightful, witty, and compassionate writing. But with Meredith's novels the language is so interestingly ironic and literary that it feels like you're looking through several different lenses onto the action or particular characters. It makes for a s

If you enjoy 19th century irony as I do, you will enjoy The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) immensely! This novel was a recent choice by the Yahoo 19th Century Lit group, and I don’t know why it isn’t more widely read by lovers of the classics because much of it is hilarious.

The ordeal that young

I think this book would appeal to those who read 19th-century fiction, but who'd also enjoy some modernity to go along with it. Just when you think Meredith is writing a stock 19th-century character or a 'typical' plot line, he turns it on its head. Honor, romantic notions, and pride are skewered. T

Some books are simply impossible to pigeonhole, although sensational, psychological, socially critical Bildungsroman pretty much covers the waterfront of The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of a Father and Son. George Meredith’s most successful early novel is this exquisite dissection of the sm