Call for Book Chapters: “George Eliot’s Unfortunate Men”

Vernon Press invites book chapter proposals to be included in a forthcoming scholarly volume on “George Eliot’s Unfortunate Men.”

Things often end badly for males in George Eliot’s fiction. Macarthy, the antisocial artist in her first published prose fiction, dies unappreciated; dreamy Seth Bede reconciles himself to a pitiful bachelordom; Smilesean Tom Tulliver charters his wealth (but not his wellbeing); seductive Tito Melema is throttled by his adoptive father; idealistic Harold Transome is chastened by his circumstances; pedantic Edward Casaubon fails as a scholar and as a gentleman, and formidable Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt drowns because Eliot is unsure what else to do with him.

These men meet their respective fates in credible ways, but are they treated fairly by the author?

This edited volume will examine the fate of male characters from various works of fiction by George Eliot. Chapter-length essays, approximately 5,000 to 8,000 words long, that examine the experience of any of Eliot’s male characters, using any scholarly approach, are requested. Although submissions on any of George Eliot’s works are welcome, chapters on any of the Scenes of Clerical Life, on The Mill on the Floss, on Silas Marner, on Felix Holt, and on Romola are encouraged.

Please send a title and keywords along with an abstract of no more than 300 words to Dennis Gouws at dr.dennis.gouws.2@gmail.com by April 30. 

About the editor:

Dennis Gouws, PhD, Professor of English, Department of Literature, Writing, and Journalism, Springfield College, USA. Editor in Chief, New Male Studies: An International Journal.