"Middlemarch" by George Eliot is a literary masterpiece that immerses readers in the tapestry of a small English town during the 19th century. This novel presents a rich and intricate exploration of human lives, ambitions, and societal dynamics. The story interweaves the lives of various characters, notably Dorothea Brooke and Dr. Tertius Lydgate, as they navigate personal aspirations, love, and the challenges of their time. Dorothea, an intelligent...

Middlemarch follows the lives of residents in a fictional 19th century English town grappling with love, ambition, and societal constraints. Dorothea Brooke, a passionate young woman, makes a misguided marriage to a scholar for intellectual fulfillment, only to find disappointment. Similarly, idealistic doctor Tertius Lydgate finds his career and marriage thwarted by small-town politics and his own choices. The novel explores themes of idealism, realism,...

A New Yorker writer revisits the seminal book of her youth-Middlemarch-and fashions a singular, involving story of how a passionate attachment to a great work of literature can shape our lives and help us to read our own histories. Rebecca Mead was a young woman in an English coastal town when she first read George Eliot's Middlemarch, regarded by many as the greatest English novel. After gaining admission to Oxford and moving to the United States...

Jennifer Egan, Siri Hustvedt, and Margot Livesey once again convene to discuss George Eliot's classic novel, Middlemarch. Hope Davis reads an excerpt from the book.