In the fictional town of Middlemarch, selflessness, social reform, and romantic love struggle to survive against human foolishness, economic missteps, and societal ideals. Young and intelligent, Dorothea Brooke hastily marries Edward Casaubon, a middle-aged scholar working tirelessly on his "masterpiece," The Key to All Mythologies. Their union soon sours, and Dorothea becomes trapped in a difficult situation that worsens upon the death of her husband. Elsewhere in town, Tertius Lydgate, an idealistic young doctor, is caught in an ill-fated union with the sweet but superficial Rosamond Vincy. Intertwined within the lives of these two unfortunate couples is the handsome artist Will Ladislaw, who is sympathetic to Lydgate's ideas about science and medicine, and who develops feelings for his uncle's wife—Dorthea Brooke.
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"I thought the story was great and the characters, but it was so long. (I'm not decreasing my rating becasue of that). I like how Dorothea and Rosamond's view on marriage and life in general were such opposites. "
— Kelly (4 out of 5 stars)
" Wonderfully rich novel exhibiting the glacier-like, fatal, but somehow also benign momentum of both social history and individual lives. Demands rereading, I think. "
— Taylor, 5/24/2011" OK, it's really excellent. And I even copied a couple passages into my journal. And I read it fast enough, while on vacation. BUT for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't love it. "
— Ilya, 5/23/2011" OK, it's really excellent. And I even copied a couple passages into my journal. And I read it fast enough, while on vacation. BUT for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't love it. "
— Ilya, 5/23/2011" One of my favorite books! "
— Beth, 5/15/2011" One of my favorite books! "
— Beth, 5/15/2011" this was my second go with this book. i read about 100 more pages, and just couldnt continue. it bounces allover the place too much, and most of the characters are quite boring. I gave up. "
— Kimberly, 5/5/2011" this was my second go with this book. i read about 100 more pages, and just couldnt continue. it bounces allover the place too much, and most of the characters are quite boring. I gave up. "
— Kimberly, 5/5/2011" George Eliot is the greatest. Why, Oh Why doesn't anyone read her any more? It really makes you wonder if Joanna Russ wasn't right after all. "
— Chris, 5/3/2011" George Eliot is the greatest. Why, Oh Why doesn't anyone read her any more? It really makes you wonder if Joanna Russ wasn't right after all. "
— Chris, 5/3/2011" I thought the story was great and the characters, but it was so long. (I'm not decreasing my rating becasue of that). I like how Dorothea and Rosamond's view on marriage and life in general were such opposites. "
— Kelly, 5/2/2011" I was bored reading about the hum-drum lives of this little community. At times I felt myself wishing everyone had a bit more common sense. "
— Kelly, 4/26/2011" I was bored reading about the hum-drum lives of this little community. At times I felt myself wishing everyone had a bit more common sense. "
— Kelly, 4/26/2011George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann, or Marian, Evans (1819–1880), was an English Victorian novelist of the first rank. An assistant editor for the Westminster Review from 1851 to 1854, she wrote her first fiction in 1857 and her first full-length novel, Adam Bede, in 1859. In her writing, she was chiefly preoccupied with moral problems, especially the moral development and psychological analysis of her characters. She is known for her sensitive and honest depiction of life and people in works that are acclaimed as classics.
Hannah Gordon is a Scottish actress who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television work, including My Wife Next Door, Telford’s Change, and Upstairs, Downstairs. In addition to her television performances, she has also lent her voice to several audio books as well as narrating Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf in a Christmas concert with the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra in London.