Romola
Chance led me to Romola, the obscure, now unfashionable work by George Eliot, her fourth and most ambitious novel.
As I met the difficulties in reading Romola, I turned to my painting practice for assistance.
A body of work began to emerge and a sense of meeting the writer herself. This aspect of making work formed the basis for the annual David Wilkinson Memorial lecture, entitled Reading Romola.
The paintings were shown in their final form in the New Court Gallery, unaccompanied by text. Romola is one of those stories that can be read in many ways. I don’t think this book will ever close for me.