The Lifted Veil

By: George Eliot

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

George Eliot's The Lifted Veil was first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in 1859 and has now become one of the author's most widely read and critically discussed stories. Told from the point of view of a young, egocentric, and morbid clairvoyant man, Latimer, it is a dark fantasy portrait of an artist whose visionary powers merely blight his life. The story reflected the scientific interest of the time in the physiology of the brain, mesmerism, phrenology, and experiments in revivification. It also is a reflection of the author's moral philosophy.

The Lifted Veil is a significant part of the Victorian tradition of horror fiction, along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Public Domain (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Creepy

Not my favorite Eliot but fun for Halloween? Like most horror, it leaves me unsatisfied as far as explanations or endings go.

Enigmatic

This story is enigmatic, to say the least. Themes revolving around mysticism vs science, unknown vs known, author vs work provide thought-provoking material after the work is finished. For George Eliot fans, it’s a work worth considering.

Pretentious and self-pitying

While the language is rich, ultimately the tale is exhausting, unsatisfying, meandering and incomplete. It follows a character who for the entire tail remains self-pitying, obsessive, and pretentious. There is no growth or accountability, just a Frankenstein level of self-woe.

Depressing and Sad Tale

I'm a fan of George Eliot, my favorite being Silas Marner. But this one left me just . . . bewildered and sad. I kept waiting for Latimer to be embraced and loved by SOMEONE. But it didn't happen. This one is altogether one of the loneliest, bewildering tales I've heard, and I don't feel better having listened to it.