It starts out a bit slow, discussing a young woman's courtship and marriage in period England, but once Ms. Eliot has introduced us to enough characters the story really gets going. Middlemarch is about a country town by the same name, and the plot is essentially the evolution of a host of main characters. My favorite was Fred Vincy, though I disliked most of the other young men in the book, especially Tertius Lydgate (and his wife for that matter) and Will Ladislaw. Mr. Vincy is a college graduate (rare at the time) who is something of a dandy despite his family's middling social status. He expects to inherit his uncle's large estate and busies himself with antics awaiting wealth. In my own lose taxonomy of literature, I divide books between those good for their narration and for their writing, this is among the latter, though being so long one has to enjoy the story to appreciate the writing. If you appreciate artful prose and enjoy books set in the period, this book is for you.
My favorite quote:
Indeed, she herself was accustomed to think that entire freedom from the necessity of behaving agreeably was included in the Almighty's intention about families.
Rating: ***
