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Middlemarch - George Eliot
Middlemarch
by: (author)
4.40 170
George Eliot’s novel, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life, explores a fictional nineteenth-century Midlands town in the midst of modern changes. The proposed Reform Bill promises political change; the building of railroads alters both the physical and cultural landscape; new scientific... show more
George Eliot’s novel, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life, explores a fictional nineteenth-century Midlands town in the midst of modern changes. The proposed Reform Bill promises political change; the building of railroads alters both the physical and cultural landscape; new scientific approaches to medicine incite public division; and scandal lurks behind respectability. The quiet drama of ordinary lives and flawed choices are played out in the complexly portrayed central characters of the novel—the idealistic Dorothea Brooke; the ambitious Dr. Lydgate; the spendthrift Fred Vincy; and the steadfast Mary Garth. The appearance of two outsiders further disrupts the town’s equilibrium—Will Ladislaw, the spirited nephew of Dorothea’s husband, the Rev. Edward Casaubon, and the sinister John Raffles, who threatens to expose the hidden past of one of the town’s elite. Middlemarch displays George Eliot’s clear-eyed yet humane understanding of characters caught up in the mysterious unfolding of self-knowledge. This Penguin Classics edition uses the second edition of 1874 and features an introduction and notes by Eliot-biographer Rosemary Ashton. In her introduction, Ashton discusses themes of social change in Middlemarch, and examines the novel as an imaginative embodiment of Eliot's humanist beliefs.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780141439549 (0141439548)
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages no: 853
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Musings/Träumereien/Devaneios
Musings/Träumereien/Devaneios rated it
4.0 VoxGirl: "Middlemarch" by George Eliot
(Original Review, 2002-06-12)A drop of water on your head is easy to ignore; a constant drop in the same spot becomes a form of torture.For some women, their big problem is they can't kick out a cheating boyfriend. For others, their problem is they can't say no to a bridezilla best friend. Others ar...
A Man With An Agenda
A Man With An Agenda rated it
5.0 Middlemarch by George Eliot
'Middlemarch' is the daunting 5th novel from George Eliot. It primarily concerns the lives of the gentry and middle class, but showcases Eliot's dazzling ability to create worlds. The English novel typically had large supporting casts of characters and depended upon depicting shades of rural life, b...
JB's Reading Life
JB's Reading Life rated it
5.0 Middlemarch
Reckoned to be one of the greatest English novels and who am I to disagree
Chris' Fish Place
Chris' Fish Place rated it
5.0
Eliot is one of those writers who I always forget how good she is. It’s not that I ever forget she is good, it is just that forget the high standard she has for most her work. The exception is Adam Bede, and this is no doubt because it was the first Eliot I read (thanks to Alistair Cooke). I f...
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents rated it
3.0 Middlemarch
I guess this would be labeled as a period drama or maybe historical realism. It follows several several people in their regular lives. A lot of the focus seems to be about the ideas of the time and changes in ideas.
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