The Washington herald., 1909-05-18
MEREDITH IS DEAD
Novelist a Victim of Heart
Failure in London.
BEGAN CAREER at AGE OF 81
ssThe Ordeal of Richard FevereI,"
Considered His Best work by
Many, Appeared in 1S59-Wrttings
in Humorous Vein Had strong In
fIuence on Young Authors.

London. May I7.-George Meredith. the
novelist. Is dead.
Mr.. Meredith was taken III last Friday.
and had become steadily weaker owing
TO his inability 20 take food and the
feeble action OF the heart His death
vas Immediately due to heart failure.
George Meredith was born in Hamp-
shire Surrey, England, on February y,
ISIS. His career as an author began
when he was twenty-one years old. sl-
though It was. not until a decade later
that his novel. The Ordeal OF Richard
Feverel' by many regarded as his best
work. was written. He published hts first
volume OF poems In 1851. dedicating it 10
his father-in-lsw, Thomas Love Peacock
He had also written al this time some
essays and miscellaneous papers.
Evan Harrington" his next novel.
published two years after Richard
FevereI. dealt humorousIy with the
question whether a tailor could be a
gentleman The comic element persisted
in "Sandra Belloni" in which is de-
scribeG a Polish family, whose members
wished 10 shine in English society. this
novel being followed by -Rhoda Flem-
ing" one OF the simplest of all his stories.
which is almost Grecian in the straight
forward march OF its tragedy
Influenced Young Writers.
In 1S7I Meredith returned to the humor-
Gus vein with The Adventures Of Harry
Richmond. a tale which no doubt had
a strong influence on many young writer's
Of romance OF that day 'Beauchamp's
Career came FIVE years later. and occu-
pied itself very largely with English poll
tics.
The Egotist" appeared four years
later. its theme being the seIhshness OF
q certain type OF nasculinity. The novel
ist subsequently admitted that the central
figure Of this work was modelled upon
person who had come under his observa-
ton Ferdinand Lasslle, the German
social Democrat, is thinIy disguised in
The Tragic Comedians gsS0). this being
followed three years later by another
volume OF verse.
One of the most popular OF all his
novels, Diana of the CrossBays.~ came
out in lSsS, and here. too. the central
episode IS generally supposed 70 have
Three more novels followed "One OF
Our ConqueTors'' (ISsD Lord Ormont
and His Arninta' $50. and The Smaz-
ing Marriage" CSe5. Meredith's last
formal publication was = volume OF
verse brought out in 1900.
Educated in Germany.
Meredith got the greater part OF his
early education in Germany. When he
returned 10 England he studied law for a
little time. but did not go far in this
direction. His first novel was published
the sams year in which George EHots
first novel. Adam Bede." saw the light.
When Meredith was about twenty-five
years old he became intimately acquaint-
ed with SwinbuTne and Rossetti. the three
living together in the same house In Chei-
sea Relations Of close friendship were
established between the three. which
lasted as long as the friends themselves
lived
Once when Meredith's poems were saw
agely attacked by q reviewer in the
Spectator, Swinburne responded with a
passionate defense Of them. When SWIM
burne died in April, 1909. Meredith refer
red 20 him as "the most spontaneou
singer Of al our English children"