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Description
Middlemarch, penned by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans), is a towering work of Victorian literature. This novel offers a panoramic view of English society through the intricate lives of its characters. Set in the fictional town of Middlemarch, the story explores marriage, social change, and the aspirations of its diverse inhabitants. Eliot's masterful narrative delves into complex moral dilemmas, personal ambitions, and the clash between individual desires and societal expectations. A Victorian literary gem, stands as a towering achievement in 19th-century literature. Provides a sweeping portrayal of English society, intricately woven through the lives of its diverse characters. Delves into themes of marriage, social transformation, and the aspirations of its inhabitants. Navigates through intricate moral challenges, personal ambitions, and the clash between individual desires and societal norms. Remains a compelling read, offering valuable insights into the human condition and societal dynamics. Read more
Publisher : Fingerprint! Publishing (December 1, 2023)
Publication date : December 1, 2023
Language : English
File size : 2838 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
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Top Amazon Reviews
So concludes George Eliot, in her epic novel that both Martin Amis and Julian Barnes claim is the greatest English novel. I dare not make such a pronouncement, knowing there are far too many English novels I have never read, nor are even familiar with. Nonetheless, I was exceedingly impressed; in reading it I felt that this was the equivalent of eating a real tomato from the garden, as opposed to the store-bought cardboard ones. It was such a long time to reach that subject concluding phrase, that speaks of unremarkable lives, that can, nonetheless, be fascinating. It commenced, way, way back when, I was in high school, and a possible reading assignment was “Silas Marner.” It was the universal consensus of the junior high school class that “Marner” was the most BORING book, ever (as though we had read a lot back then.) I read “Catcher in the Rye” instead, a much more acceptable coming-of-age book. Fast forward decades, and the Vine Program surfaced, and offered me Rebecca Mead’s “My Life in Middlemarch,” which I read and reviewed in 2014. Mead had read “Middlemarch” FOUR times; she was 17 when she read it the first time. In part, for Mead, it was that ever-changing river that one puts one’s foot in. Each decade that she re-read it provided richer meaning. I gave Mead’s book a 5-star, plus rating, and decided to read “The Mill on the Floss” as a “prequel,” which I did in 2014, giving it my special 6-star rating. Another five years pass, with “Middlemarch” still unread. Finally, fortunately thanks to a friend who is a former Amazon reviewer, who just finished the novel this year, the question hung heavily: “If not now, when?” It took me over six weeks to complete it. I found myself reading it in bite-sized portions, due to her psychological insights into the actions and feelings of a range of characters and her prose which remains original and fresh, more than 150 years after original publication. Like Proust, Eliot provides a detailed depiction of one social strata in society, rooted in a particular time and place. Her sentences do not run on as long, which, in Proust’s case, could take your breath away. Her development of a significant range of characters is deeply impressive. Compared to Proust, this lengthy novel of 650 pages, in the re-issued Digireads version, is almost laconic. I’m sure a comparison of the two authors has been the subject of more than one Ph.D. dissertation. Eliot’s world is early 19th century, middle to upper middle-class rural England. The heartland of this “green and pleasant land.” Foreign events are never mentioned. London, and the machinations of the politicians, are far off, though talk of “reform,” seems to have percolated down to the village commons. Technological advances, like the coming of the railroad, are only briefly mentioned, mainly in conjunction with surveying opportunities. The time period is a bit fuzzy, but based on a couple of actual dates, one would assume the novel takes place in the two decades centering around 1830. Eliot waited until later in life, 1871-72, to write this work. Solid character development spans some 15 individuals. Dorothea Brooke is a key character, and perhaps Eliot’s alter ego. Before 21, Dorothea decides to wed a much older man, one that the reader will grow to despise: Casaubon. She is dazzled by his intellect and learning. They honeymoon in Italy. She comments that for women, and their choices, passion is low on the list. Her disillusionment will follow. Another key character is Lydgate, a young doctor who come to town, and weds Rosamond, who would not be content “with any of the village boys.” For these individuals, as well as others, there is always the economic and social structure founded on land ownership, and how a given individual can be described by the annual rent that is due them, for example, a couple thousand pounds a year. And in reading about all the small-town intrigues, jealousies, pecking-order status and class, along with the attendant gossip of Middlemarch, it made me again realize how much more pleasant it is to live relatively anonymously in a larger city. The following are some passages that I marked: “…but it was inevitable that in that excusing mood he should think of her as if she were an animal of another and feebler species. Nevertheless, she had mastered him.”; “It was not simply that beneficent harness of routine which enables silly men to live respectably and unhappy men to live calmly…”; and, “…going to end his stricken life in that sad refuge, the indifference of new faces.” Usually I like the epilogue sections of books, and Eliot did not disappoint in this matter either. How did things turn out in the long run for those that we had gotten to know well during a sliver of their life? Regrettably, given the time period, explicit sexual passages are verboten. So, one must project, and I kept thinking that with Eliot’s sensitivities, she would have started with a brush of the fingertips along the nape of the neck… I’ll never be granted time to re-read this work three more times, like Rebecca Mead did. But I’d love to have the time for one more re-reading. 6-stars for the best English novel that I have read.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2019 by John P. Jones III
My memory of reading this book many years ago was that it was terrific, and a wonderful read. Well, I was younger then, and something about it must have clicked with me to think so. This second time round, I found some of it turgid, to say the least. I didn't enjoy Eliot's author comments much, although they, like everything else, improved as the book went on. I found it took a long time to get moving, and yet the last 100 pages or so are top notch, moving along faster than you can keep up. It's as if she spends most of the book setting things up, and then all of it comes to a great climax at the end. It's just that the setting up is long-winded. I didn't enjoy her minor, representative characters who she introduces into certain sections as a kind of chorus on the events. Apart from their general meanspiritedness, they all sound much the same, and you feel there might have been a better way to do this. Compare these to minor characters in Dickens, who often outshine some of the leading characters! Sometimes she explains her characters far too much, and doesn't give them room to explain themselves - which they certainly can do, when allowed. However, these explanations are interesting for their psychological insight, and are certainly ahead of their time, coming closer perhaps to Henry James in their style. I wonder how many readers over the years have breathed an enormous sigh of relief when the abominable Mr Casaubon dies, somewhat prematurely, and alone. Now, you think, things will improve for Dorothea. Nope, they don't much, and in fact things go far downhill for several of the characters before the book ends. But Eliot doesn't leave us at the bottom: perhaps improbably she lets Mary Grant and Fred Vincy marry; Fred never really seems to have changed, although Eliot claims he has. She finally allows Will and Dorothea to marry, which is a relief, too, but Lydgate and his self-centred wife are condemned, you might say, to struggle on for two or three more decades. Not everything can be solved in this particular world. The book is about a lot more than the married lives of its characters: politics and reform, medicine in a time of transition, money and greed, Christianity and the lack of it. There are almost too many subjects for one book. But at least it has a heroine with spunk (even if she is missing for chapters at a time in some parts of the book) and a few men who are mostly her equal. None of your wishy-washy Dickensian heroines here...!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2021 by M. F. Crowl
I'm sure the language is top notch for the 1800's but for me it's very dense and difficult to read. The author throws in a lot of french and latin which most readers today won't understand (me included). The story is very interesting and gives me some insight into what life mibht have been like in rural England nearly 200 years ago. This kindle edition, by the way, has an awful lot of typographical errors.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2016 by Robert Meyer