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lorna_harrison 's review for:
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
A solid but long classic. I read it as part of a group read slowly so it has taken me some time.
Eliot takes three main characters from the town of Middlemarch - two siblings and one other - and we get to see their romantic happenings over a three year period. There are a few secondary characters who appear throughout the book both as romantic rivals and also as friends and associates.
The book is set with the background of the 1832 reform bill and it deals with the lives of the rising middles classes mainly. The characters are vicars, doctors and the sons and daughters of industry figures. There is only one member of the aristocracy (a knight) who has a small role.
Dorothea starts as a young 18 year old and makes the wrong decision about who to marry. She develops as the book goes on and survives widowhood to find happiness with her second husband. She is portrayed as a benevolent soul and isn't motivated by money - in fact she takes quite a lot of time figuring out how to get rid of it ! She is well rounded and ahead of her time.
Rosamund, however, comes across as a spoilt entitled girl who again married the wrong person. I definitely had more sympathy for her husband who seems to try his best. They get a reasonably happy ending after facing bankruptcy and scandal.
The third couple are Fred and Mary who get the smallest roles but are the ones you end up rooting for. Theirs is a story of development and change for Fred as he struggles to be someone Mary will marry. Very glad to see their story wrapped up at the end
Her writing style is verbose in many places and she inserts her opinion as narrator often. At times this is welcome and at times you wish for an editor to chop lots of it out. Overall a satisfying read and I was glad for the glimpses into Midlands Country town life from that period.
Eliot takes three main characters from the town of Middlemarch - two siblings and one other - and we get to see their romantic happenings over a three year period. There are a few secondary characters who appear throughout the book both as romantic rivals and also as friends and associates.
The book is set with the background of the 1832 reform bill and it deals with the lives of the rising middles classes mainly. The characters are vicars, doctors and the sons and daughters of industry figures. There is only one member of the aristocracy (a knight) who has a small role.
Dorothea starts as a young 18 year old and makes the wrong decision about who to marry. She develops as the book goes on and survives widowhood to find happiness with her second husband. She is portrayed as a benevolent soul and isn't motivated by money - in fact she takes quite a lot of time figuring out how to get rid of it ! She is well rounded and ahead of her time.
Rosamund, however, comes across as a spoilt entitled girl who again married the wrong person. I definitely had more sympathy for her husband who seems to try his best. They get a reasonably happy ending after facing bankruptcy and scandal.
The third couple are Fred and Mary who get the smallest roles but are the ones you end up rooting for. Theirs is a story of development and change for Fred as he struggles to be someone Mary will marry. Very glad to see their story wrapped up at the end
Her writing style is verbose in many places and she inserts her opinion as narrator often. At times this is welcome and at times you wish for an editor to chop lots of it out. Overall a satisfying read and I was glad for the glimpses into Midlands Country town life from that period.