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3.65k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
3.65k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
I can see why this book is a classic! It was rather long, but I got increasingly into it, and was riveted by the last 4-5 hours or so (on Audible).
I was especially enamoured, as I'm sure many are, by the story of Fred and Mary, but I found Dorothea's tale also fascinating, although she was (at first) a much less likeable character. I wish we knew what happened to Farebrother in the end! I hope he was happy.
Also just a word of admiration for the Audible narrator Juliet Stevenson, who did the huge cast of characters in such distinct tones that I really felt that I got to know them. Her skill in reading, combined with the witty and engaging text, made this a very fun read.
I was especially enamoured, as I'm sure many are, by the story of Fred and Mary, but I found Dorothea's tale also fascinating, although she was (at first) a much less likeable character. I wish we knew what happened to Farebrother in the end! I hope he was happy.
Also just a word of admiration for the Audible narrator Juliet Stevenson, who did the huge cast of characters in such distinct tones that I really felt that I got to know them. Her skill in reading, combined with the witty and engaging text, made this a very fun read.
Makes me long for a cottage in the English countryside!
This was a great book. I loved that it focused on the life of ordinary people in an ordinary place in an ordinary time…except for the modern reader! This was a glimpse into the past and I loved reading about these characters and watching them change and grow as they dealt with all the things that life throws at all of us.
This is a long one and I was a bit it worried going into it that it would have some padding to it but it really didn’t! Eliot did an exceptional job of setting the scene and giving us insight into the interior lives of the characters without getting too bogged down.
Another one that is a classic for a reason!
This was a great book. I loved that it focused on the life of ordinary people in an ordinary place in an ordinary time…except for the modern reader! This was a glimpse into the past and I loved reading about these characters and watching them change and grow as they dealt with all the things that life throws at all of us.
This is a long one and I was a bit it worried going into it that it would have some padding to it but it really didn’t! Eliot did an exceptional job of setting the scene and giving us insight into the interior lives of the characters without getting too bogged down.
Another one that is a classic for a reason!
Well I'm not sure what new and dazzling insights one can spew forth about Middlemarch at this stag of the game except to say it's a dashed good read, thoughtful and clever whilst not losing sight of the plot. The characters feel real and knowable and as if they exist once you've put the book down. The wider political context of the times is deftly handled too, so I'm glad I've read it.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is so much to say about this book, it was amazing.
"Oh, please stay, and let me give you some tea."
Be warned, you will need several cups, perhaps several pots of tea when you decide to embark on the journey, the experience of reading and appreciating this piece of classic Victorian literature. I finished this book months ago and I've struggled to summarize or should I say, succinctly formulate my thoughts for one of the best books I've read this year.
Life in the fictional provincial town of Middlemarch begins with young Dorothea Brooke and her sister Celia who are under the guardianship of their uncle. Dorothea's thoughts and feelings are not worn on her sleeve, she's a young woman with deep feelings, expressing without reservation her thoughts and opinions. She is not the typical complacent woman of her day. She has an intense desire to help others by engaging in meaningful work and looks for opportunities to do so. But as many novels of this time period depict, women are not encouraged to nurture any ambitious thoughts outside of marriage and family.
Full review here:
https://booksbythecup.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/middlemarch-review/
"Oh, please stay, and let me give you some tea."
Be warned, you will need several cups, perhaps several pots of tea when you decide to embark on the journey, the experience of reading and appreciating this piece of classic Victorian literature. I finished this book months ago and I've struggled to summarize or should I say, succinctly formulate my thoughts for one of the best books I've read this year.
Life in the fictional provincial town of Middlemarch begins with young Dorothea Brooke and her sister Celia who are under the guardianship of their uncle. Dorothea's thoughts and feelings are not worn on her sleeve, she's a young woman with deep feelings, expressing without reservation her thoughts and opinions. She is not the typical complacent woman of her day. She has an intense desire to help others by engaging in meaningful work and looks for opportunities to do so. But as many novels of this time period depict, women are not encouraged to nurture any ambitious thoughts outside of marriage and family.
Full review here:
https://booksbythecup.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/middlemarch-review/
challenging
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really struggled initially with this book. The first 100-200 pages are a flog when you are getting introduced to all the characters of Middlemarch.
Though it didn’t pick up in pace there were moments of excitement most particularly with Dorothea. However it was also very boring at the same time but it managed to redeem itself in the last quarter.
Each character represents a pillar of community and their varying storylines reflect all corners of society, from relationships to finance and class. With this, Eliot also explores the role of women, in both marriage and money, their found happiness or lack of, the controversy of choice, independence. The female characters of Middlemarch demonstrate poignant insight into the emotional sides of each narrative, wrapped up in beautifully written philosophy and resonating sentiment in the 1800s
Though it didn’t pick up in pace there were moments of excitement most particularly with Dorothea. However it was also very boring at the same time but it managed to redeem itself in the last quarter.
Each character represents a pillar of community and their varying storylines reflect all corners of society, from relationships to finance and class. With this, Eliot also explores the role of women, in both marriage and money, their found happiness or lack of, the controversy of choice, independence. The female characters of Middlemarch demonstrate poignant insight into the emotional sides of each narrative, wrapped up in beautifully written philosophy and resonating sentiment in the 1800s
The presence of a noble nature, generous in its wishes, ardent in its charity, changes the lights for us: we begin to see things again in their larger, quieter masses, and to believe that we too can be seen and judged in the wholeness of our character.
Sunset and Sunrise, Chapter 76
I want to be judged and judge others by the wholeness of our characters and this quote near the end of Middlemarch jumped out at me as the kernel of what George Eliot was trying to portray in this book. Relationships were not purely stereotypical and although the plight of the female in marriage in a patriarchal society was portrayed, the faults of women had a part to play as well. I read for many different purposes and when I take on a classic I expect to discover the works’ place in history, a window into the beliefs of the time period and a book that has stood the test of time, hopefully, but not always, because the writing is good. Middlemarch fulfilled my expectations and the writing itself was often brilliant and sometimes quite funny! I don’t have to like the characters in a book to enjoy it, but I do like it better when I can relate to them. There were good and bad traits I could see in myself throughout this book. I am not one who always thinks that classics have become classics because they are the best of literature, but Middlemarch ranks among the favorite classics I have read.
Sunset and Sunrise, Chapter 76
I want to be judged and judge others by the wholeness of our characters and this quote near the end of Middlemarch jumped out at me as the kernel of what George Eliot was trying to portray in this book. Relationships were not purely stereotypical and although the plight of the female in marriage in a patriarchal society was portrayed, the faults of women had a part to play as well. I read for many different purposes and when I take on a classic I expect to discover the works’ place in history, a window into the beliefs of the time period and a book that has stood the test of time, hopefully, but not always, because the writing is good. Middlemarch fulfilled my expectations and the writing itself was often brilliant and sometimes quite funny! I don’t have to like the characters in a book to enjoy it, but I do like it better when I can relate to them. There were good and bad traits I could see in myself throughout this book. I am not one who always thinks that classics have become classics because they are the best of literature, but Middlemarch ranks among the favorite classics I have read.
"For there is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it." - Middlemarch, George Eliot
As England contemplates modernization, the small provincial town of Middlemarch is experiencing ripples of its own: young, naively moralistic Dorothea Brooke enters into marriage with old, scholarly Casaubon; the innovative doctor Lydgate opens his practice in town; fortunes and land and fates are bartered and gossiped and given and taken - a study of growth, change, and commitment.
The relationships central to the plot of Middlemarch - Dorothea, Casaubon, and Ladislaw; Lydgate and Rosamond; Fred and Mary - are genuinely thoughtful reflections on the ways in which people relate to one another, what draws us together and repels us, and first impressions should not be mistaken for compatibility. The other 50% of the book is what I'm sure are clever quips about the state of 19th century English politics. I've been meaning to read this book for 8+ years - it's the first thing I added to my Goodreads list, one of the first books I purchased from a used bookstore - and it has been collecting dust ever since then. Was it worth the eight year wait? Maybe! It does evoke moments of genuine emotion - laughter, longing, cringe. It's also didactic to the point of temporary incomprehensibility in others. And yet, I think I liked it!
As England contemplates modernization, the small provincial town of Middlemarch is experiencing ripples of its own: young, naively moralistic Dorothea Brooke enters into marriage with old, scholarly Casaubon; the innovative doctor Lydgate opens his practice in town; fortunes and land and fates are bartered and gossiped and given and taken - a study of growth, change, and commitment.
The relationships central to the plot of Middlemarch - Dorothea, Casaubon, and Ladislaw; Lydgate and Rosamond; Fred and Mary - are genuinely thoughtful reflections on the ways in which people relate to one another, what draws us together and repels us, and first impressions should not be mistaken for compatibility. The other 50% of the book is what I'm sure are clever quips about the state of 19th century English politics. I've been meaning to read this book for 8+ years - it's the first thing I added to my Goodreads list, one of the first books I purchased from a used bookstore - and it has been collecting dust ever since then. Was it worth the eight year wait? Maybe! It does evoke moments of genuine emotion - laughter, longing, cringe. It's also didactic to the point of temporary incomprehensibility in others. And yet, I think I liked it!