Title: Romola
First published: 1858
Description: Eliot’s only historical novel, set in 15th century Florence under the rule of the Medicis, blends fact with fiction as the reader follows the almost saint-like Romola and the amoral and feckless Tito Melema whom she marries against the advice of her brother, an equally saintly priest. An impressive account of Renaissance life in a wealthy Italian state.
Subjects: Married women, Greeks, Self-sacrifice, Fiction, History, Women, British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author), Fiction, historical, Italy, fiction, Fiction, family life, Fiction, psychological, Fiction, historical, general, Social life and customs, Politics and government, English fiction, Political fiction
Places: Italy, Florence, Florence (Italy)
People: Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), Lorenzo de' Medici, Niccolo Machiavelli, George Eliot (1819-1880), Mathilde Blind (1841-1896)
Time periods: 1421-1737