Middlemarch (New Edition with Introduction and Glossary): George Eliot's Original 1871 Historical Classic Novel. Victorian 19th-century English Fiction. Classic literature for Book Clubs.

by George Eliot

"In the small, provincial town of Middlemarch, life is anything but simple."

Middlemarch is a sweeping, richly textured novel that delves deep into the lives of a diverse cast of characters, each navigating the intertwining paths of love, ambition, and morality. At the heart of this masterpiece is Dorothea Brooke, a young woman with lofty ideals and a passionate desire to do good in a world that often stifles such dreams. Her marriage to the elderly scholar Edward Casaubon, however, brings only disillusionment, setting her on a course that will forever change her life.

As we journey through the lives of the townsfolk—from the ambitious Dr. Lydgate, whose medical reforms are met with suspicion, to the charming yet conflicted Will Ladislaw, and the beautiful but self-centered Rosamond Vincy—we see the complexity of human relationships, the struggle between old traditions and new ideas, and the moral dilemmas that define a community.

Middlemarch is not just a story of one town; it is a profound exploration of the human condition, set against the backdrop of a changing England. With its keen psychological insight, vivid characterizations, and intricate plot, George Eliot's magnum opus is a timeless reflection on the hopes and failures that shape our lives.

Step into the world of Middlemarch and discover why it remains one of the greatest novels of all time.

Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2024

About the author

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–1863), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–1872) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.
Middlemarch was described by the novelist Virginia Woolf as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people" and by Martin Amis and Julian Barnes as the greatest novel in the English language.