Set in the early 1800s, the book is about the small provincial town of Middlemarch and the political intrigues that catch its residents in a tight web, constantly frustrating their aims and forcing them to make moral decisions they would rather ignore.

The plot follows several characters, including Dorothea Brooke, a beautiful and simplistic young woman who makes a mistake in her marriage; Tertius Lydgate, a young doctor new to the town whose ambition is frustrated by his egotistic wife and the political squabbles and intrigues of Middlemarch; Will Ladislaw (George Eliot's voice), whose gypsy-like ways at first appear eccentric, but whose sensible outlook on life is relieving; Fred Vincy, a foolish and idle young man who recognizes himself as such and seeks to change his ways to win the hand of a girl; and the rich banker Bulstrode, whose past is catching up with him.

With the elections looming up, the town is split into two parties, both looking to fulfill their aims at any cost.

The book gives a realistic, inspiring insight into life back then, covering a wide variety of topics while staying on the same course towards the end of the book – society, politics (which aren't always as boring as they are made out to be), humanity, science, medicine and art.

Anyone and everyone. Most classics are. A must-read for any historical novelist.

Every character in the book is appealing in their own way, whether it be because of their goodness or downright hatefulness. George Eliot has cleverly worked what could be boring into something exciting and enrapturing, using different and intersting characters. Coming away from it, I still cannot say which is my favourite character – I loved and hated them all so much!

The ending was also unpredictable and satisfying, and I had a memorable time in the last pages.

Perhaps the length of the book, and sometimes not understanding what George Eliot was talking about.

Find out about the Reform Bill! A piece of advice, if you're going to read this book and don't know much about the Reform Bill, just go search on the net 'Reform Bill' and get the general gist of what it is. I got about halfway through the book before I decided to find out what Eliot meant by 'Reform Bill', and after that I understood everything.

Full of awe – a lot more learned and at the same time pretty stupid, realizing how little I really know!

George Eliot has a great style. Her writing is not at all dry, as I was partially expecting, and she uses a good dose of satire, which is always good for the soul. She also did very well balancing her book out – keeping her reader interested in all the characters and what was happening to them. She made them come alive.

I first picked up the book because it is a recognized classic and I was curious. It's really fat and has a lot of pages, so I thought 'I'll just read the first few pages and see what it's like.' And that was the end of that. I couldn't put it down after that.

It's always great to recognize the classics, as the saying goes: "Art may come and go, but the masterpieces will always be."

A powerful piece of art, cleverly structured, memorable characters and a good, solid plot (and lots of subplots).

Nowadays people like it quick, easy, light and entertaining. If you're after that, this isn't the book for you. This book is realistic.

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Created Dec 05, 2011 at 7:46pm • Submit your own review...