In George Eliot`s classic novel about class and politics, Esther Lyon must choose between Harold Transome, a politician and the heir of Transome Court, and Felix Holt, a young radical who threatens the stability of her world. Her choice illustrates George Eliot`s belief that love and moral goodness--and, incidentally, sexual passion--cannot be separated. Written in the mid-1860s, the novel is set in 1832, just after the passing of the Reform Bill in England. According to Eliot, who worked rapidly on the book despite her various physical ailments at the time, she wished to explore in this story what determination can do in the face of despair .