The Mystery beneath the Real: Theology in the Fiction of George Eliot

The Mystery beneath the Real: Theology in the Fiction of George Eliot. By Peter C. Hodgson. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. x + 244 pp. $20.00 (paper). Published in England as Theology in the Fiction of George Eliot: The Mystery beneath the Real (London: SCM, 2001) 17.95 (paper). Hodgson begins by saying, "It should be clear I am not a specialist in literary criticism but a theologian who has found in George Eliot a surprising resource for reflecting on one of the most difficult questions: whether and how it is possible to speak meaningfully of the presence and action of God (or of the Divine Mystery) in the world today" (p. ix). The reviewer, a specialist in literary criticism who is also well trained in theology, has read and taught George Eliot annually over the past thirty-five years with much enthusiasm.

Hodgson's own enthusiasm and admiration for Eliot are obvious...