In the following essay, Hobson claims that Eliot was the first major writer to invest a labor activist character with social importance and moral value, and to recognize that class divisions would not disappear with industrialization and modernization.

In the following essay, Lesjak discusses Eliot's representation of the working class, which she removes from the productive sphere and situates within the domestic sphere in order to minimize class conflicts and disparities in income.

In the following essay, Carroll discusses George Eliot's characterization of Harold Transome in her novel Felix Holt, asserting that “he is as tainted by his identity as an imperialist Englishman as he is by his participation in barbaric Oriental custom.”

In the following essay, Carroll discusses Eliot's use of Orientalism in Felix Holt through the character of Harold Transome, who is neither English nor Eastern.

In the following essay, Wilt explores the transformation of Felix Holt from doctor to radical and the role of secrets within the narrative in accounting for that transformation.

In the following essay, Sheets explores issues of miscommunication and misunderstanding in Felix Holt.

In the following essay, Leavis discusses how the failure of Felix Holt led to the success of Middlemarch.

In the following essay, Bode suggests that Eliot's use of “politics” in Felix Holt extends beyond the scope of government and public life into the private relationships between men and women, and parents and children.

In the following essay, Starr discusses Eliot's beliefs on the relationship between authorship and commerce in Felix Holt.

In the following essay, Booth discusses elements of feminism in Felix Holt, claiming that the novel criticizes injustices related to gender as well as to class.

In the following essay, Thompson evaluates Eliot's many references and allusions to Dante in Felix Holt.

In the following essay, Vance defends the unity and coherence of Felix Holt, concentrating on issues of land ownership and religious dissent, and comparing the period of the novel's setting with the period in which it was written.

In the following essay, Bamber discusses Eliot's efforts to deal with the political situation in Felix Holt dialectically and her failure to offer precise political options through her representatives of the new order.

In the following essay, Horowitz discusses the way Eliot uses Felix Holt to articulate her personal vision for reform of English society.

In the following essay, Thomson claims that Felix Holt is mistakenly considered a political novel and that Holt himself is more Positivist than radical, reflecting Eliot's basically conservative politics.

In the following essay, Rogers discusses Eliot's criticism of frivolity and materialism in middle-class women in Felix Holt, a criticism shared by Leo Tolstoy, who admired the novel.

In the following essay, Sandler examines the characters Esther and Rufus Lyon and the radicalism of Felix Holt, arguing for the unity of the novel's domestic and political themes.

In the following essay, Pykett examines the relationship between Eliot's Felix Holt and Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy.

In the following essay, Gallagher discusses Eliot's departure in Felix Holt from the conventions associated with English realism toward a more sophisticated narrative form.

In the following essay, Hockberg explores Eliot's use of names in Felix Holt to encode literary and historical references.