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The Mill on the Floss

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 16,288 ratings · 768 reviews

Rebellious and affectionate, Maggie Tulliver is always in trouble. Recalling her own experiences as a girl, George Eliot describes Maggie's turbulent childhood with a sympathetic engagement that makes the early chapters of The Mill on the Floss among the most immediately attractive she ever wrote.

Paperback, 579 pages

Published April 29th 2003 by Penguin Classics (first published 1860)

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Dec 18, 2011 Furqan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, favourite-books, george-eliot, victorian-literature, british-literature, to-reread

This is the first novel I've read, written by George Eliot and naturally had high expectations of it, and I was certainly not led to be disappointed. It is a poignant tale, encompassing sibling relationship, filial duty and coveted independence of the protagonist against a background of early 19th century England, with its epitomizing focus on social class, rigid morality and clan loyalties. Eliot is the ultimate mistress of characterization, in that she doesn't strive to create 'saints' but cha...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Christopher by: lonebearimages@gmail.com

Shelves: british-literature, victorian-literature, historical-fiction, favorites, read-in-2010, george-eliot, my-western-canon, favorite-rereads

Upon completion of the The Mill on the Floss, I realized that I had just finished something monumental—a staggeringly amazing literary achievement. This novel, written by ‘George Eliot’ (Mary Anne, or Marian Evans), and first published by Blackwood and Sons in 1860, could have just as easily been titled, “Pride and Prejudice” had not that title been put to use already. Some twenty-four hours after finishing this book, I am coming to the conclusion that Eliot may, in fact, represent the absolute...more

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Mar 04, 2008 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like long books about people

Recommended to Becky by: read for Victorian novel class

I suspect between this novel and Middlemarch, George Eliot is becoming my favorite nineteenth-century novelist. I wish she were still alive so that I could write her fan letters.

The Mill on the Floss is funny and moving and philosophical. Eliot does so many different things well; she's witty and detached, and then she writes a love scene that makes your knees go wobbly. Middlemarch struck me the same way - it's incredibly romantic, and then it does things with that romance, crazy thematic plot t...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Brinda rated it 5 of 5 stars

While Middlemarch may be grander in scope, a tad more sophisticated in its style and perhaps more global in its outlook (despite the title), Mill on the Floss is a raw, action-packed intellectual and emotional thriller. And I mean thriller not in the creepy sense but in the truly exhilarating one. I refuse to choose between the two because I love them both.

Maggie Tulliver is just about the most exciting fictional character I have ever encountered. Perhaps she taps into a subconscious sexism, wh...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Mira rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mira by: Dania

Shelves: british-literature, own-it, historical-fiction, 2011, favourites, classics, friends-gifts

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

The Mill on the Floss is one of the most delightful surprises of 2011. I've literally fallen in love with this novel, no wonder of course; as it's an amazingly insightful read, a classic, and a gift from a dear friend. I started the book with somehow low expectations and finished it full of this exquisite feeling one gets after reading something that matches his taste perfectly, and knowing that he has just read a masterpiece.

The novel introduces the siblings Magg...more Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

The Mill on the Floss is one of the most delightful surprises of 2011. I've literally fallen in love with this novel, no wonder of course; as it's an amazingly insightful read, a classic, and a gift from a dear friend. I started the book with somehow low expectations and finished it full of this exquisite feeling one gets after reading something that matches his taste perfectly, and knowing that he has just read a masterpiece.

The novel introduces the siblings Maggie and Tom Tulliver, who come from a middle-class, ordinary family, and gives us a detailed picture of their childhood, and their relationship. Gradually, it develops into a description of their teenage and mature life, all the way through emphasizing the obvious differences between their natures and consequently their fates. The suspense element is ever existent, easily flowing along with the well written, tangled plot. But the most heartwarming characteristic about this novel is the characters themselves. Eliot did an incredible job making them seem alive, real, with such depth put into each character that I was truly awed. In reading about Maggie, I was much reminded of Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, another favorite of mine. Maggie, Jude, and Sue have this passionate nature in common which I certainly adore; they share an instinctive thirst for knowledge, a desire to live life fully, and a longing to taste the delicious fruit of love they were for long denied. Temptation makes a magnificent appearance in both novels, drawing the major lines of the struggles flaming inside each character, and leaving the reader to face some unexpected decisions and impulses. Though both are tragedies, far from being light, they reflect the thoughts of two cultivated bright minds, in which you could feel some fraught rebellious feelings, a great estimation of women, and a slight scorn of their society, that becomes clear at the end of this novel as Eliot describes the horrible thoughts and unjust responses the world shows towards Maggie’s misinterpreted conduct.

The male protagonists were just as great. Starting from the strong-headed Tom, whom I kept wavering between liking and disliking . Then to one of my favorite heroes: the deformed Philip, living in his realm of books, paint and brushes, and the haunting picture of Maggie, down to the handsome, witty but somehow blank Stephen.

I truly loved this book, and was pleased with its very comprehensive view of society, human nature, temptations, and most of all its beautiful representation of family relations. The book is not without its funny moments, it’s lovely, touching, bright and haunting all in one. I cannot give a possibly higher RECOMMENDATION.

Thank you Dania! :)
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Oct 14, 2008 Meg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ah, the classic tale of Maggie Tulliver and the four men she loves. How they destroy her, how she destroys them, and how they all end up irredemptively miserable. Or dead. In most cases, both.

So why read it? Because it's beautiful. Because it opens up your heart and mind in powerful ways. Because you will LOVE and truly feel for Maggie. Or just because you want to read one of those stories that makes you think, "See... my life isn't that bad!"

Maggie is amazingly intelligent, but she can't be edu...more Ah, the classic tale of Maggie Tulliver and the four men she loves. How they destroy her, how she destroys them, and how they all end up irredemptively miserable. Or dead. In most cases, both.

So why read it? Because it's beautiful. Because it opens up your heart and mind in powerful ways. Because you will LOVE and truly feel for Maggie. Or just because you want to read one of those stories that makes you think, "See... my life isn't that bad!"

Maggie is amazingly intelligent, but she can't be educated because she's a worthless woman. She wants to save her family from financial ruin, but she's uneducated, so she doesn't know how. She wants to open herself up to friendship, but family grudges prevent her. She wants to follow the man she loves, but in doing so she will betray her best friends and be rejected entirely by her society. Pretty much her whole life sucks--full of split alternatives. No matter what she chooses, she will make herself and others miserable. This all proves that George Eliot is a woman capable of Thomas-Hardy-level depression. (And yes, George Eliot is a woman... don't feel bad, it took me years to figure that out.)

The theme of the story is a struggle between passion (personified by Maggie) and duty (personified by her brother, Tom). Maggie absolutely lives and breathes for Tom's love and approval. However, if she follows her heart and her passions, her brother rejects her... in fact, he literally hates her (and tells her so). On the other hand, if she stifles her own desires and surrenders her very self to duty, she is miserable. And Tom still doesn't give her any credit. If there's one literary character I'm glad I'm not, it's probably Maggie Tulliver.

I was introduced to this story when I saw Helen Edmundson's phenomenal play adaptation at the Shared Experience theater in London (if you're anywhere near London, PLEASE VISIT THIS THEATER RIGHT NOW). Edmundson drew an amazing allegory between Maggie's life and the old "fire and water" witch trials. Centuries ago, some genius came up with a brilliant plan of how to tell if an accused witch was guilty. As everyone knows, witches (and ONLY witches) can float in water. (Duh.) So you simply throw an accused witch into the depths of the sea. If she floats, she's guilty, and you melt her flesh at the stake. However, if she sinks to the bottom and dies choking in water while her lungs collapse, she's innocent! "Congratulations! You've been absolved! Now you can live out your life in... wait a second..." (Yeah, I told you--these people were geniuses). There is no more perfect parallel for Maggie's hopeless life filled with impossible alternatives.

I honestly can't think of a single thing that could have happened to make this story sadder. And the most depressing part of all--it's almost entirely autobiographical.

I'm gonna go cry now.

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Apr 24, 2007 Claire rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 12, 2009 Lizzie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dailylit, 2009, heard-of-it, existential-romance, e-book, favorites, 1001-books, book-of-the-year

Five thousand stars.

I don't really know what to say. To me, old novels sometimes feel too emotionally remote, usually the fault of the conservative style imposed on them, but this was one of the most emotionally vibrant things I've ever read. Maggie was such a vivid character that every page she's on feels true. And yet, it's such a novel, with themes so richly built. Because of Shannon's numerous discussions of it for many years, I knew most of the ending before starting, but that only made it...more Five thousand stars.

I don't really know what to say. To me, old novels sometimes feel too emotionally remote, usually the fault of the conservative style imposed on them, but this was one of the most emotionally vibrant things I've ever read. Maggie was such a vivid character that every page she's on feels true. And yet, it's such a novel, with themes so richly built. Because of Shannon's numerous discussions of it for many years, I knew most of the ending before starting, but that only made it even richer. The symbolism is effortless and perfect and needed. (And is it really possible people don't like the ending?)

It was a really visceral read: lots of face-clasping and jaw-dropping. Maggie says some of the truest things I've ever seen in fiction, and it's wonderful. Eliot's omniscience says the rest of them. I was stunned how sharp the commentary was, painful and real. She seems to have known everything. So I felt kind of silly for a while; why didn't I listen to Shannon and read it when this happened to her? But really, it doesn't matter, because reading this felt like it was written especially for me to read in my life right now. Which is how your favorite books always make you feel, right? (It's official. I changed my GoodReads relationship status to "Favorite books: The Mill on the Floss.")

Not every page thrilled me to pieces. The aunts remained annoying throughout; I guess I didn't find them as great a foil as they're supposed to be. My interest slackened a little during some of Tom's sections. But I think it is really obvious to point out: Basically my criticism is, "Maggie Tulliver is so outstanding that I longed for her in every chapter that wasn't all about her." Which, really, is not a criticism at all. It's not like it's shortsighted to write a protagonist so good a reader can't stand to be away from her. (I especially think we should have gotten to see as much of Maggie in school as we did Tom. But still: not seriously concerned.)

Though I purchased a copy as I neared the end so I could always have it, I read it all via DailyLit in 242 parts over two months. One of the things I like most about reading through DailyLit emails is that though most pages can be deleted after they're read, emails with passages I really like I save instead. Just in case. (I think this is the same kind of thing that makes people underline or dog-ear pages in real books, but I've never been able to do that.) So in my email right now I have 5 saved pages of Night and Day, 1 page of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and 110 pages of The Mill on the Floss. For a little perspective.

It is needed.(less)

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Aug 20, 2008 Misfit rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19c-lit

Eliot is superb as always! I would give this 10 stars if I could. This is Eliot's semi autobiographical novel, and tells the story of Maggie Tulliver and her brother Tom. The story takes place in the village of St. Ogg, and at the Mill on The Floss that's been in the Tulliver family for generations. Other reviewers have told enough of the story (in some instances too much) that I don't see the need to go into it again. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Eliot depicted the sibling relationship between...more

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Jun 30, 2009 Helynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Mill on the Floss is another superb George Elliot novel, and although it hasn't gained quite the popularity of either Silas Marner or Middlemarch, it is still a fine read. The Floss is a river that runs along the small English town of St. Ogg, where brother and sister Tom and Maggie Tulliver have come of age. Maggie worships her brother Tom, but he is spoiled and manipulative, and she is also bright, bookish and adventursome (in short, very autobiographical of Eliot herself). Maggie values...more

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Jun 18, 2008 Mekhala added it Recommends it for: anyone who loves charectar stories anyone looking for novels on relationships beyond romance

I saw a copy of this book on a library shelf, It had no titile (the coat had come off I suppose) and no sumary on the back.

But it looked old and musty enough to be of interest, and it indeed was. this tale is full of agitation of the heart and the sort of painfull struggles that many people go through without the rest of world knowing or caring about it. above it is a tale of sibling love and the intense and powerfull relationship between sister and brother from childhood to adulthood and their...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, classic-literature, historical-fiction

Many say this is George Eliot's most autobiographical novel; if so, she must have spent her entire life feeling misunderstood as Maggie did in this story. I loved Maggie's desire to always do the right thing, and her thought process and confusion illustrate the difficulties of making that choice at times. I wish others in her family had seen her talents and encouraged her, rather than the opposite. The relationship between Tom and Maggie did strike me as odd, but probably believable. The harsh j...more

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Aug 19, 2007 Katharine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: c19, feminism, womenwriters

I'm tempted to say really foul-mouthed things about Tom Tulliver here, but I'll restrain myself. (And about Stephen Guest! And... just about every man in this book, other than perhaps Philip. Also, three-quarters of the women.)

Good, occasionally extremely powerful, but not half as amazing as Middlemarch or Daniel Deronda. Maggie is heartbreaking, and her story feels more like a c18 heroine's than any other Eliot I've read -- entrapment and misery and misunderstandings, everywhere. Eliot hasn't...more

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Jan 16, 2008 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mybasicbookshelf

i've read this book a few times, and have written about it, and still it has more layers of secrets for me every time. it's a book about the struggles of childhood, the struggles of adolescence, the struggles of womanhood---the struggles to define oneself against, as in many victorian novels, the restrictions of cultural mores.

for me, this is a book about the conflicts between internal imagination and external realities. and so as much as it's about victorian realities, i think for everybody, a...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Giuseppe D rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"[...] that new sense which is the gift of sorrow - that susceptibility to the bare offices of humanity which raises them into a bond of loving fellowship, as to haggard men among the icebergs the mere presence of an ordinary comrade stirs the deep fountains of affection."

Riporto questa frase non solo perch�� mi ha colpito nel contenuto ma anche perch�� ho impiegato tempo a capirla: solo un esempio di come la costruzione del periodo della Elliot non sia esattamente di immediata comprensione. Pe...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Catherine added it

Wow, in this world of easy gratification and need for “happy ever after” endings this was a truly interesting book. The lack of the happy ending may explain the difference between the continuing main stream popularity Jane Austen has enjoyed and the fact that George Eliot seems to have been confined to the English Literature classes. Very unfair in my opinion.

Despite it’s distance to us in time it could easily be transcribed to a story for our generation. The characters are so skillfully crafted...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Alun Williams added it

I have never read any George Elliot novels before, and have to confess to coming to this book expecting not to like it much. This is a very carefully constructed novel - a Bildungsroman set in the early 19th century. Heroine Maggie Tulliver is the daughter of a rather foolish, but prosperous mill-owner and his even more foolish though good-natured wife. Mr Tulliver dotes on his dark haired child who shares his hot temper, while his wife is sadly puzzled by her daughter. Maggie craves the love an...more I have never read any George Elliot novels before, and have to confess to coming to this book expecting not to like it much. This is a very carefully constructed novel - a Bildungsroman set in the early 19th century. Heroine Maggie Tulliver is the daughter of a rather foolish, but prosperous mill-owner and his even more foolish though good-natured wife. Mr Tulliver dotes on his dark haired child who shares his hot temper, while his wife is sadly puzzled by her daughter. Maggie craves the love and approval of her less intellectual but much more practical brother Tom but her impetuous nature causes frequent clashes between them. The key incident in the novel, divided into seven "books", is a family disaster which effectively marks the end of childhood for Tom and Maggie at the start of book 3. It was at this point that I began to enjoy the novel : I had found the description of Tom and Maggie's childhood dull - I think mainly due to the author's rather ironic tone, which made it hard for me to enter into the feelings of Tom and Maggie - at that point I was comparing George Elliot very unfavourably with one of my favourite female writers, Rumer Godden, who excelled in portraying the joys and troubles of childhood.
I found the second two thirds of the book much more satisfying - a tragicomic succession of disasters befall the Tullivers, which the author uses to point up the strengths and weaknesses of the provincial society of the period, but Maggie becomes more interesting as she turns first to asceticism and then to love, first with the son of her family's worst enemy, and finally with a new and even more dangerous man.
This edition has been edited by A.S. Byatt and she has done an excellent job: her notes are very interesting and she has gone back to the manuscript to restore some of the vitality and originality of George Elliot's writing, which it seems may have been toned down to please the taste of her publisher.
Although this novel has its faults I will certainly look forward to reading some of the author's other works now.
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Sep 27, 2010 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

From her childhood, Maggie Tulliver is perceived as a � thing out o� nature.� She� s far too clever for a girl, and she doesn� t hesitate to passionately express her feelings; even her hair won� t be controlled. As a little girl, Maggie gets into one scrape after another, and no one seems to approve of her. Even her brother Tom, whom Maggie adores unconditionally, sees her as � a silly little thing.� [return][return]As Maggie grows older, her family loses the mill that has been its primary sourc...more From her childhood, Maggie Tulliver is perceived as a � thing out o� nature.� She� s far too clever for a girl, and she doesn� t hesitate to passionately express her feelings; even her hair won� t be controlled. As a little girl, Maggie gets into one scrape after another, and no one seems to approve of her. Even her brother Tom, whom Maggie adores unconditionally, sees her as � a silly little thing.� [return][return]As Maggie grows older, her family loses the mill that has been its primary source of income. The loss drives her father to despair and raises in him a grudge against the Wakem family for being involved in his misfortune. Maggie is torn between her loyalty to her family and her burgeoning friendship with young Philip Wakem. For Maggie, however, the oldest loyalties are always the strongest, and she follows her brother� s directions in where to plant her affections. Her loyalties to her family, to friends, and to herself continue to be tested throughout the book, and the right choice becomes less and less clear, especially when the most principled path is the one that is likely to cause her the most pain and to draw the most scorn from the community. Maggie, in never choosing the expected path, is destined to be misunderstood.[return][return]Maggie is a likable heroine� independent, passionate, intelligent, curious, principled. At times, her principles and passions do lead her to make unwise choices, and Eliot does a brilliant job of showing how society can seem to conspire against the unconventional. Although Maggie is the heart of the story, the other characters are well-drawn and interesting, and they develop and change over time. I didn� t like every character, but I don� t expect to. I did, however, believe in these characters, which is the most important thing.[return][return]The last few chapters of the book do feel rather rushed. After taking great care to meticulously record ordinary events of Maggie� s childhood, Eliot hurries through some of the most dramatic events in the story. And there are a few stretches of lengthy description that might seem overlong and pointless� although most of these are well-written and contain interesting nuggets about the worldview Eliot is expressing in the book. The story takes several turns that are unexpected but perhaps inevitable. In fact, there� s a sense of inevitability about the whole novel. The imagery of rivers and currents emphasize the impossibility of resistance, even if submitting to the flow means annihilation. It is a masterfully done work. It was my first Eliot many years ago, and it remains my favorite.[return][return]See my complete review at my blog.(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Gavin Felgate rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Mill on the Floss centres around Tom and Maggie Tulliver, whose parents own the eponymous Mill on the Floss. The first chapter is about their childhood, and how they grew up together, including an episode where Maggie runs away from home, and the plans to send Tom to a boarding school.

When Tom goes to boarding school, he makes friends with a hunchbacked boy named Philip, who falls in love with Maggie. However, Philip's father then sues Tom and Maggies' father, who ends up bankrupt and bedrid...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Linda Lingard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mill on the Floss started charmingly with the story of a mischievous young girl, Maggie Tulliver. She was not considered pretty being dark haired and wild, unlike her well-behaved blue-eyed blonde cousin. So right from the start we liked her and cheered her. The story followed Maggie's life with her family and her close relationship with the brother she adored, Tom. Maggie soon blossomed into a beautiful young woman and fell in love with Philip, whose father was believed to have caused the death...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Mel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Man, am I glad to be done with this one. First and foremost this is a book that bears the unfortunate stamp of its time period in that a lot of elements within it are only relevant to when Eliot was writing them. I don't think the relationship between Maggie and Tom would be something an author could feasibly write about today.

Eliot does a lot of pontificating in this book, and a slows a lot of the action down. Eliot's always ruminating about society or perceptions or something and it just seems...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Esdaile rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-novels, my-library

This is an all-time classic, although strangely I have no desire to read it ever again although it made a deep impression on me when I did read it about 40 years ago. I loathed Tom Tulliver then, what a philistine and how presumptious, bumptious and downright stupid I thought him: I am more tolerant now. This novel is probably for many people a "feminist" novel since it presents a sister who is indisputably more intelligent than her brother and whose progress is stilted compared to his by the ep...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished reading Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. It tells the story of Maggie Tulliver from childhood to her early twenties. It is an engaging read with a lovable protagonist and brilliant descriptions. This book begins optimistically, when Mr. and Mrs. Tulliver decide what to do about an education for Maggie’s brother Tom. However, the novel soon becomes bleak when Mr. Tulliver loses all the family’s money and property in a lawsuit. It then turns into a love story, focusing mainly on...more I just finished reading Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. It tells the story of Maggie Tulliver from childhood to her early twenties. It is an engaging read with a lovable protagonist and brilliant descriptions. This book begins optimistically, when Mr. and Mrs. Tulliver decide what to do about an education for Maggie’s brother Tom. However, the novel soon becomes bleak when Mr. Tulliver loses all the family’s money and property in a lawsuit. It then turns into a love story, focusing mainly on Maggie’s relationships with Philip Wakem and Stephen Guest. I was not expecting this twist, because in a George Eliot novel I have read previously (Silas Marner) I do not remember romance being a central theme. (Note: Even though romance is a factor, if you are looking specifically for a romantic novel I would recommend an Austen or Brontë novel over Mill on the Floss.)

I loved this book. The main character Maggie is wonderful–she is honest and hardworking with a fiesty side that only serves to make her more interesting and independent, though sometimes it gets her in trouble. The setting is charming as well. The Tulliver family lives at Dorlcote Mill right next to the Floss, and the scene sometimes extends to the magnificent Scotch firs in the Red Deeps. Another benefit was that the plot moved relatively rapidly and kept my attention very well; I hardly set it down for the last 200 pages.

I did have several problems with this book. First, the novel does not start off with any apparent purpose, but I expected this since many classics begin the same way. (In fact, it reminds me of David Copperfield.) Second, by the end of the book, Maggie was almost the only character I felt I could trust. I lost confidence in her brother Tom because of his cruelty to Philip Wakem; in Stephen Guest when he showed his inability to stay true to commitments; and in Philip Wakem because he ran away from Maggie when she most needed him. My only major issue was with the ending. It was abrupt and left all the problems unresolved. It may be that Eliot was trying to reflect real life, and wanted to show that the problems Maggie faced could not be resolved. I do not want to give away the ending to help with my argument, but if you read it yourself you will understand my frustration.

However, despite an unsatisfactory ending and several irritating characters, I enjoyed this book a lot. It was interesting and exciting throughout. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a classic. It is fairly brief–my copy has only 464 pages–and I did not have any difficulty with the reading level. Overall, Mill on the Floss is a good read.

To see my other reviews, visit my blog at http://literaryllama.wordpress.com/(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Wayne S. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maggie Tulliver, who is age seven when the story opens, lives at Dorlcote Mill on the River Ripple at its junction with the River Floss near the village of St. Ogg’s in England, with her father, who owns the mill, mother, and older brother Tom. The novel spans a period of ten to fifteen years, beginning with Tom’s and Maggie’s childhood and including her father’s ongoing battles with a lawyer named Wakem, the Tullivers’ consequent bankruptcy resulting in the loss of the mill, and Mr. Tulliver’s...more Maggie Tulliver, who is age seven when the story opens, lives at Dorlcote Mill on the River Ripple at its junction with the River Floss near the village of St. Ogg’s in England, with her father, who owns the mill, mother, and older brother Tom. The novel spans a period of ten to fifteen years, beginning with Tom’s and Maggie’s childhood and including her father’s ongoing battles with a lawyer named Wakem, the Tullivers’ consequent bankruptcy resulting in the loss of the mill, and Mr. Tulliver’s untimely death. Tom has been in school with Philip Wakem, the lawyer’s hunchbacked, sensitive, and intellectual son, and Maggie has grown fond of Philip, seeing him secretly. To help repay his father’s debts, Tom leaves his schooling to enter a life of business, but in his hatred of the Wakems, he forbids Maggie’s seeing Philip, and she languishes in the impoverished Tulliver home, renouncing the world after reading Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ.
Some years later, Tom has been successful and able to restore the family’s former estate. Lucy has been away teaching school but returns to visit with her cousin, Lucy Deane. Her acquaintance with Philip is renewed and he still loves her, but Stephen Guest, a young socialite in St. Ogg's who is Lucy’s fiancé, is also attracted to her. Maggie enjoys the clandestine attentions of Stephen, but when he substitutes for the sick Philip in taking her on a boat ride and proposes that they stop in Mudport, and get married, she rejects him and makes her way back to St. Ogg's, where, rejected by her brother Tom and almost everyone else except her mother, Tom’s friend Bob Jakin and his family, in whose home she takes lodgings, and the minister, Dr. Kenn, who engages her as governess for his children, she lives for a brief period as an outcast, though she does reconcile with both Philip and Lucy. When the flood comes, Maggie sets out in one of Bob’s boats to rescue Tom, and together they head to rescue Lucy, but their boat capsizes and the two drown in an embrace, thus giving the book its Biblical subtitle, “In their death they were not divided.”
I have always liked Eliot’s Silas Marner because it is, in the final analysis, a tale of redemption. However, The Mill on the Floss is not primarily a tale of redemption. In fact, the book is somewhat autobiographical in that it reflects the disgrace that the author herself felt while involved in a lengthy relationship with a married man, George Henry Lewes, although there are differences. No actual immorality is portrayed in the book, and towards the end, Maggie does make the right choice. There are a little bad language and some references to drinking alcohol, using tobacco, and dancing. Biblical quotations and allusions abound throughout, but I am not sure that the book represents a truly Biblical worldview. A certain degree of fatalistic determinism is at play throughout the novel—in fact, on one occasion Maggie says, “Our life is determined for us”—although Maggie’s ultimate choice not to marry Stephen demonstrates a final triumph of free will. Some latent feminism also occurs in that the cultural norms of her community seem to deny Maggie her intellectual and spiritual growth. Many of Eliot’s observations about the nature of people and society are interesting, with some of which you may agree and others you may not, but occasionally her social commentary goes on and on to the point of becoming boring. Like The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the right hands The Mill on the Floss could be used to teach a good lesson on not being judgmental, but due to the “titillating” nature of the story I would recommend that it not be inflicted on anyone under age eighteen.(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Charmaine Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my second George Eliot. I do like her writing. I plan to read all her books sometime, but I did like Adam Bede better.

I almost quit after 120 pages. I did for awhile and read another book, then I decided to give it another chance to keep me awake. I didn’t like the characters. The story centers on the Tulliver family. Mr. Tulliver owns the Mill on the Floss River, which has been in his family for generations. The mill has given him some village distinction as a successful tradesman. The...more This is my second George Eliot. I do like her writing. I plan to read all her books sometime, but I did like Adam Bede better.

I almost quit after 120 pages. I did for awhile and read another book, then I decided to give it another chance to keep me awake. I didn’t like the characters. The story centers on the Tulliver family. Mr. Tulliver owns the Mill on the Floss River, which has been in his family for generations. The mill has given him some village distinction as a successful tradesman. The family lives comfortably. Mrs. Tulliver has 3 irritating sisters, who constantly correct and criticize the children, Tom and Maggie. The story is Tom and Maggie’s, but more Maggie’s. No one has patience for the little free spirited child. She always seems to be in trouble for one non-conforming action after another, like getting dirty, being outspoken and cutting her own hair when everyone complains about how messy it is. Maggie is tall with a dark complexion and black unruly hair. She is constantly being compared to one of the sister’s fair, petite and proper daughters, Lucy.

Maggie’s older brother Tom is favored and plans are made to send him to school when Maggie is the real scholar. Maggie loves her brother and longs for his acceptance and attention. Tom has Maggie’s heart but his frequent censures constantly wound her. The disappointment in this sibling relationship will plague Maggie to the end. She willingly sacrifices her own happiness for her brother’s good favor.

The family wrangling over money and criticizing the children was oppressive in the first 100 pages. I felt that Elliot spent too much time on developing the characters before anything happened, but I understood when the plot began to be evident in the last half of the book.

Mr. Tulliver sacrifices to send Tom to be schooled with a pastor in a semi-private situation. Tom is not happy there learning Latin and classic literature. He is more at home in the woods killing rats. Philip Wakum is Tom’s classmate who is indeed a scholar and an artist. Philip has a hunch back that makes him repugnant to Tom. Maggie comes to visit Tom at school and stays on several occasions, developing a connection with Philip. Their minds meet as friends and intellectual equals, with no thought of Phillip’s looks and disabilities.

Mr. Tulliver loses the Mill and family fortune in a nasty lawsuit with Philip Wakem’s solicitor father. This event creates an intense hate and hostility between the families and ends Tom’s schooling and the friendship between Maggie and Philip. Tom and Maggie leave home to work.

Tom’s childhood friend Bob plays a pivotal role in the story. There is an interesting contrast between this very poor boy and the rich Aunts, who are stingy, judgmental and non-supportive to the Tulliver family in trouble. Bob earns a 10 pound reward for stopping a fire on the wharf. He spends a pound on himself and comes to Tom and Maggie, in their time of need, to offer them the remaining 9 pounds, because he believes they need it more than he does. He buys books for Maggie because he knows she loves them. Later he brings Tom into his business ventures and ultimately shares his home with them with no motives for personal gain.

Maggie grows to be a uniquely beautiful woman, losing her childhood clumsiness, but not her spunk and free spirit. Her lovely cousin Lucy has long been her friend and ally. Maggie leaves her position to visit Lucy and have a needed rest. Lucy is almost engaged to a dashing young man, Stephen Guest. Stephen is thrown together with Maggie for the long visit and becomes quietly besot with her. Philip is also back in the picture. The plot thickens as Maggie is forced into a situation to break her brother’s heart (he has forbid her to see Philip) or her dear cousin Lucy’s if she responds to Stephen’s advances.

The story ends as a sad and poignant romance. George Elliot continues to write her philosophical interludes as the story moves along, as she did in Adam Bede, almost as a Godlike over looker of the events...not as often, but I still liked her insights. I am glad I read it but you must have some stamina to get through the beginning. 3 ½ stars.

The BBC has a 3 hour production of the book. The movie begins with the irritating aunts and they are as hard to take as they were in the book, only now they scream and hurt your ears. I have a great tolerance for British drama. I enjoyed it, but someone without my patience or if you haven’t read the book you might not enjoy it as much. It was made in the 70’s and looks quite dated. But it does follow the storyline nicely.

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Nov 07, 2011 Tyler Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spoiler Alert! I loved this book because I had no I idea what was going to happen. If you haven’t read The Mill on the Floss and don’t know how it ends, don’t read this review.

Let me start at the end, because The Mill on the Floss has one of the most devastatingly powerful endings of any novel I have ever read. In some ways the whole novel is a complete inversion, structurally speaking, of what I expected. The only other work of Eliot’s that I had read previously was Silas Marner and so I assume...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Namida... rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics-drama

Oh dear what is this book!
this is such a great book by George Eliot, i can never fully state my feelings towards it. it has certainly touched me personally not just by how the characters resound in their own complexity but by the ground breaking twists this book is full of.
it took me two months to read it, and it was sure worth it. told in seven parts, the mill on the floss is not a book for anyone, especially the light-heated or the romantic type. first of all each of these seven parts seems l...more Oh dear what is this book!
this is such a great book by George Eliot, i can never fully state my feelings towards it. it has certainly touched me personally not just by how the characters resound in their own complexity but by the ground breaking twists this book is full of.
it took me two months to read it, and it was sure worth it. told in seven parts, the mill on the floss is not a book for anyone, especially the light-heated or the romantic type. first of all each of these seven parts seems like a story to its own, even though the characters are the same and the society is the same; the character's development and their introduction into different life hardships makes each book speaking for its own theme.
The great ambiguity about this book is the fact that it seems an everyday read when it's very deep in meaning all to the core. the style is superb and captivating, that's certain and expected, but it's not just the style which might draw a normal reader to read this book, it's the amount of ideas and plot twists that keep you intrigued by every chapter, every event. i have to admit something, even though most critics would find the book appealing by the initial chapters and the theme of childhood, i, as a normal reader, was not one of them. don't get me wrong, i liked the first and second part where the characters were going through childhood but i didn't really feel the full impact of their meaning until later on, i didn't feel completely committed to the book and committed to calling it a masterpiece until i had read the rest of the parts.
okay, here's what some people would say: 'good story, good writing' but to me, i can't really find ground to the fascination i have for this book more than these other people would say, because i didn't find the story good, i found it superb, and the writing was not just good, it was brilliant. indeed if i can just relate one reason for this infatuation, i can say that the deep connection i have for Maggie, the heroine of this book, is what pushed it this far for me. the likeliness between Maggie and myself is so great, it's frightening! and although the events are thankfully different, the way she's placed concerning her society and her family made me quirk a smile every now and then when i was reading this book. George Eliot sure did know about me before my parents even existed! and to my great dismay, i found out that it was a sort of an autobiography of George Eliot herself. it was certainly queer.
what can i say except that the characters are everything in this book, and the society is the frame of it. the vividness of it, the utterly unexpected ending that really got me (a huge of Jane Austen!) shocked in my place, and my mind rocking back and forth in great struggle to overcome it.
a must read. i, for one, wish to read it again when i have the time. also what a great time to stress why goodreads really needs to consider the 10 stars policy!(less)

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Feb 21, 2011 Chris Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think people who have enjoyed Jane Austen's novels will also enjoy George Eliot. The Mill on the Floss is the first of her books I have read and I found it a great way to escape the concerns of the 21st century. George Eliot's intelligence and erudition seem to leap off the page and the book is marvellously filled with the practical domestic details of life in the 19th century and the age's moral concerns. Occasionally the author's omnificence and the didactic edge to some of her prose becomes...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone who loves both a good laugh and a good cry...

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Yet again, I find myself thoroughly awed by the unconventional woman who was so very prolific and insightful in her writings. Since I had just finished reading Middlemarch and was loath to leave the provincial worlds created by Eliot, I decided to descend into another of her well known works, The Mill on the Floss. This story, unlike the former, is a tragedy and explores the conflicts a passionate young English lady has with her family, community, and the world in general. Maggie Tulliver is a p...more

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May 22, 2010 Surreysmum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1982, classics-british

[These notes were made in 1982:]. I fear that sometimes, in my expression of whatever good I can find in mediocre literature, I do not properly make clear my very real sense of the superiority of the work of greats like George Eliot. The difference, especially to a timid critic like myself, is almost overwhelming, for here we cannot be content to note happily which patterns - the old, familiar, undemanding patterns - are being attempted, and how imaginatively or ineptly it is done. Here, in the...more

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About George Eliot

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity.

She used a ma...more

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