Gwendolen

Souhami's uneven first novel is a love letter from Gwendolen Harleth, protagonist of George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda, to Deronda himself. The first two-thirds of the book tracks Eliot's story. Gwendolen falls in love with the handsome Deronda while gambling, even as his sobering gaze seems to spoil her luck. Discovering that her fortune has been lost and she, her widowed mother, and her half-sisters will soon be destitute, Gwendolen accepts the hand of wealthy Henleigh Grandcourt despite a plea from Grandcourt's mistress. As Grandcourt's cruelty makes her glittering life a private hell, Gwendolen's passion for Deronda persists. She frees herself from Grandcourt in a single dark moment, but Deronda pursues his Jewish identity and another woman, Mira Lapidoth, rather than making a new life with Gwendolen. Unlike Eliot, Souhami portrays Gwendolen as a widow who explores artistic and feminist circles while attempting to find her purpose. Gwendolen even meets the famous "George Eliot," who she finds curiously probing and knowledgeable. The book's final third showcases the historical knowledge that helps make Souhami's nonfiction (Gertrude & Alice) so successful. But reliance on summary and retracing of familiar ground flatten its impact, and and Souhami never fully develops either Gwendolen or her relationship to her creator. (Mar.)