Gwendolen Harleth, George Eliot's most remarkable heroine, marries for money and power rather than love, but finds marriage a trap and her husband's sadistic use of power constricting. The upper class Victorian society in which she moves is juxtaposed with that of the hero, Daniel Deronda. The warmth and profound moral fervour of his newly discovered community of English Jews casts a harsh light on the superficiality and hypocrisy of Gwendolen's world. Daniel's influence is a redemptive force that ultimately saves Gwendolen from despair. Eliot breaks new ground for the English novel with the unusual form and content of this extraordinary tale which conveys the full, painful complexity of love and life.