Middlemarch (Wordsworth Classics)

I loved this book. I would never have thought or probably tried to read it, were it not for our book club president. My first moments with the book were a complete ugh. I thought about backing out of my promise to read it. As we find with other classics written in a vastly different era, we must accustom ourselves to the flow of the words. George Eliot wrote in a way that we don't speak in America in 2023. So what happened was, I started to read the Introduction. Let me stop you right there. DON'T do that as the first thing. And also, do note that the Intro contains spoilers. I then tried to read the Prelude. Maybe skip that also, because the heroine of our story is someone it takes a little time to cuddle up with. Next I decided that instead of reading this dusty ole' classic I would listen with an audible book. After listening to the first few chapters read by an excellent narrator, I said you know what(?) I can read this book on my own, so I picked up the paperback version that I had already purchased from Amazon. Read a few chapters, THEN went back to the Introduction and Prelude. My other advice, READ the Introduction!!!! Really read it. When you finish the Finale, go back and read the Prelude. My new opinion of George Eliot (from what little I might have known before) was transformed into now remembering her as a genius among thinkers. While you might find yourself in a whirlpool of words written in the English vernacular of a different era - when you want to scream "just say what you mean!" remember that the message from Eliot is as wonderful and worthwhile as any hour you may spend in contemplating the world around you.

The book arrived intact, no concerns about delivery.

Make no mistake dear reader: Middlemarch is a slow burn. The prose is dense, it covers a massive amount of ground, and it takes a little bit for the reader to find their footing and understand the setting, exposition and context of the community and its central characters. However, if the patient reader can stick with it, there is quite a remarkable and powerful glimpse into humans contained within the pages.A.S.Byatt, in the introduction, most notably mentions that Eliot’s book is one about life’s “indefiniteness.” This is an apt way to describe the totality of the novel, as it plays out in various forms through the characters as a central theme.One of the most remarkable features of the novel is simply Eliot putting so many characters’ lives within the community of Middlemarch under a proverbial microscope, giving us a glimpse into human nature and the conflicts within individuals’ lives.And these characters are very flawed and human. Through many aspects, Middlemarch’s focus is characters who are either trying to do remarkable and noble things or trying to find life’s successes, but ultimately having many of those quests stifled and stymied. Oftentimes it is because of foolish pride, an unfortunate vice, or any other character flaw of some sort. However, in the same breath, this is noteworthy because these said characters often fight against their own faults, trying in some manner to overcome.In this manner, it is a fascinating look at characters such as Dorothea or Lydgate, who have romanticized ideas and visions that sometimes end with bitter realities. Yet, they have to grapple with these realities and find solutions because there are no easy answers.Among other things, the characters are also so well drawn. Eliot spends an extensive amount of time (almost to a fault) letting the reader gets to know these characters and painting a picture of Middlemarch society. I thought that Dorothea was an interesting character in that she sparks quite a bit of polarizing thoughts, both praiseworthy and critical, in reviews and book club discussions. I thought she is definitely a dynamic and well-rounded character, with flaws, sure, but with a character arc and a depth. She has a nobleness and an independence in her in not letting others dictate her life that was admirable.As mentioned before, these characters have battles: in love and marriage, in occupations and aspirations, in politics and community, in their own personal vices, and all under the glare and gossip and scrutiny of an ever-expanding and industrialized Middlemarch community.Eliot packs so much into this book, the characters’ lives, their faults, their struggles, their strengths, their weaknesses, and there is a wholeness to the novel upon finishing the final page. It was a long journey, but a journey I was glad I was on for the full duration.

An astonishing novel. Panoramic in its scope, profound in its implications, but so graceful in its writing that it constantly evokes double-takes. As Woolf pointed out, truly a league of its own in British novels.

I'm ruined, it's true. I finished reading Middlemarch after months of sharing my life with these Victorian characters of a fictitious English town called Middlemarch. I became very fond of them; they were like family and I miss them. I've tried since to read another book but I'm still pondering Middlemarch. Eliot's capacity to describe in depth her characters and their nuances is breathtaking. At first I thought I would find the Middlemarch Victorian language difficult reading but I soon adapted and I was absorbed by Eliot's words and turn of phrase. I've decided that I will start another of her books - Mill on the Floss and I also have Silas Marner in the wings. This may extricate me from thoughts on Middlemarch and gradually move me onto other literature. I can but hope so.

Wonderful use of the language, finely drawn and compelling characters.

It does not mean it is a bad book. It was recommended by a person I find very smart. But it is not an easy read and did not hold my attention.

There were only several "typos" in this particular edition... which is good for a paperback! As to the book itself.. well, a definite gem! Anyone that enjoys classics and loves to read and is willing to put forth effort to unravel her sentences will be richly rewarded!

Como sempre, as edições da Wordsworth classics não decepcionam. As letras, para algumas pessoas, podem ser pequenas, mas pra mim ela tem um tamanho muito bom. Veio em perfeito estado tbm

The page quality and font is okayish. I got used to it given the fact that it is a weighty tome.Coming to the book - a vivid portrayal of the rustic, provincial life. There were so many characters I loved. I sympathized with Dorothea. I started admiring her since getting introduced to her character. The level-headedness, the sensibility, the compassion, the love, the grief, the entanglement, the fight within and without, everything was top notch. The characters seem real, driven by motives and intent. The book is not something you buy just to experience the Victorian style of writing, the book is a gem you wish to preserve for the rest of your lives. The book demands your energy which very rarely a book does.The Author - very intelligent writing, out of this world yet distinct, connected and homely.Now I know why it is the Best English Novel ever written. If you wish to know it too buy it and read on.But yes its gonna take you elsewhere for a long long time. So be ready for that !

Please read it in your leisure time and enjoy its story.

George Eliot is one of a few women who can write men convincingly. Here we follow the detailed lives of five male characters from different social classes in Middlemarch: the aristocrat, an academic, the businessman/politician, a doctor, artist and farmer ('farmers without landlords, one can’t tell how to class them'). Indeed, the impact of social class is a strong theme – ‘the low people, by whose interference, however little we may like it, the course of the world is very much determined.’Dorothy, the heroine, is a plain woman and no doubt based on George Eliot's own lack of beauty. She moves in circles of pretty women admired by men from the various hierarchy, but her intellect prevails.There is so much wit and wisdom in this novel, I could quote endlessly: ‘Poor Mr. Casaubon had imagined that his long studious bachelorhood had stored up for him a compound interest of enjoyment, and that large drafts on his affections would not fail to be honored;’‘If you are not proud of your cellar, there is no thrill of satisfaction in seeing your guest hold up his wine-glass to the light and look judicial.’‘Oh, blameless people are always the most exasperating.’‘But a prig is a fellow who is always making you a present of his opinions.’‘When a conversation has taken a wrong turn, we only get farther and farther into the swamp of awkwardness.’‘The weavers and tanners of Middlemarch had never thought of Mr. Brooke as a neighbor and were not more attached to him than if he had been sent in a box from London.’‘Mary was fond of her own thoughts, and could amuse herself well sitting in twilight with her hands in her lap; having early had strong reason to believe that things were not likely to be arranged for her peculiar satisfaction, she wasted no time in astonishment and annoyance at that fact.’Last week, I read of research that found sitting for long periods is as bad for you as smoking, yet George Eliot, writing in 1870, and who constantly interjects the novel with her views on the world, tell us that ‘colick, crudities, oppilations, vertigo, winds, consumptions, and all such diseases are caused by over-much sitting.’I enjoyed Dr Lydgate’s journey and the insights it gave me into the medical profession at that time – the political intrigues at the hospital and patients’ fears of Lydgate’s wish to cut up dead bodies for investigation.This story, which gives a brilliant look into English rural town life in the 1830s, needs to be read slowly like sipping a glass of warm sherry.Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa

Great classic read