but rather an application of the term to his politically stagnant lifestyle), contrary to his family's Tory traditions. Contrasting with the opportunism of Transome is the sincere, but opinionated, Radical Felix Holt. A subplot concerns the stepdaughter of a Dissenting minister who is the true heir to the Transome estate, but who is unaware of the fact. She becomes the object of the affections of both Harold Transome and Felix Holt. After the lack of success with Romola, George Eliot returned to the more familiar English provincial setting for Felix Holt, the Radical, and resumed her publishing relationship with Blackwood's Magazine. Both George Henry Lewes and John Blackwood were reportedly excited at the prospect of a novel pertinent to current affairs. However, upon the story's release, some criticism was drawn to its less-than-substantial focus on politics, although this itself can be argued as representing an underlying theme in the book. Overall, Felix Holt, the Radical was an average success, but it remains one of George Eliot's least read novels. (wikipedia.org)