The first book I read from my Victober 2017 TBR. Mild spoilers throughout. ** MIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot ** Goodreads: tinyurl.com/43... Twitter: tinyurl.com/2y...
It's no exaggeration, this might be the best book I've read by a British writer. The prose style, the approach it takes to dreams and hopes v reality, the poor choices we can all take in our lives. Its superb.
You did an amazing review of Middlemarch. I re-read it recently and was struck by how much I love it. But you identified the "why" - because it focuses on the good that people do - how the real virtue who how good a people we are, and not just what one accomplishes. Wonderful review.
"What do I think of Middlemarch? What do I think of glory?" OKAY THE FACT THAT THIS REVIEW EXISTS IS ALREADY INCENTIVE ENOUGH FOR ME TO WANT TO PICK IT UP RIGHT AWAY. I have yet to finish watching past the first 5 seconds of this bcs I want to avoid spoilers BUT I WILL BE BACK. HEED MY WORDS.
I was just searching for a review of middlemarch before making a decision to buy it and I found this incredible review. One of the best book review I have ever seen. Wow!! Your feelings about the novel & characters are visible in your face while speaking. You have added a slice of emotion to your words in this review.
Hilarious review, Mary Garth MVP hah... Dorothea would be my MVP. But seriously a masterpiece from George Eliot for me, lovely to hear a good review of it.
Have you had a chance to watch the BBC production of Middlemarch? The acting is fantastic, by everyone. The actor who plays Farebrother does a great job. I forgot to mention another favorite character - Caleb Garth. I watched your review again, Claire. It was outstanding in terms of describing the plot(s) and characters. Interesting that you mentioned that it felt like you were reading two separate novels. Apparently, George Eliot started to write the story of provincial life, and then started the story of Dorothea as a separate book, but ultimately decided to combine the two books. What a genius! Thanks again for the thought and effort you put into your videos. They are exceptional!
I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but I definitely want to! I've heard great things about it from a number of people. And yes, Caleb Garth is so wonderful - I also had a little shout-out to Letty Garth (who I thought was great) when I filmed, but I cut it for time, haha. Thank you so much for your kind comments! I so appreciate it, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the video. And yes, I started doing some research into George Eliot and the Middlemarch writing process and was fascinated to learn that Dorothea and Lydate were originally separate books...which makes sense because it really isn't until about the middle of the novel that she starts to tie all the threads together.
I haven’t read Gaskell’s biography, but I did the same thing as you, I bought the book after reading Claire Harman’s book. I think Katie at Books and Things is currently reading it, so it will be interesting to hear her review. The story of C.B.’s life is so sad that I’m still not sure if I want a second read. The fact that it was written by someone who knew her is, for me, the draw to Gaskell’s book.
I know, the Claire Harman book was really heartbreaking in so many ways...but really made me love Charlotte Brontë even more than I already did. I think I will someday read the Gaskell biography because it might provide some insights into the creation of the Brontë mythology that is still so enduring today.
okay i picked up a copy of the book as soon as you said it’s about « messy 20-somethings making dumb decisions and wracked with anxiety about the future »
Lydgate’s arrogance was a bit tiring for me at first, but in the end I really liked him and appreciated the depth of his character. When he pitied bulstrode and helped walk the old man home despite the fact that it opened him up to further suspicion, I finally got a deeper sense of his character. I think that beyond his kind of egotistical ambitions, his primary desire was to help people, to do them good without restriction. He is so much like Dorothea in that way, he is just not as charismatic. I also think is character arc showed a growth towards his recognition of women as full human beings. In a way, no characters suffered more from society’s simple view of women than the lydgate couple. Rosemound bought into many of these sexist ideas, and though she has a bright and cutting mind, she has no real place where she can employ it. So, she ends up obsessed with trivialities and is unable to see her husband as a fallible (though still decent) man, and their married life becomes a sham. It takes lydgate the entirety of his youth (though to be fair, lydagte seems generally oblivious on all social matters) to recognize that women have depth and volition, and this ignorance leads him infantilize and idolize women who he is not compatible with (most notably, a murderer). I enjoyed your parallels between him and Dorothy. I felt like both characters were ultimately restricted “from doing what they would like to do” due to a society that was at odds with their ambitions and that didn’t seem to openly recognize the complexities of marriage and general human relations. However, doretha managed to find happiness and meaning by opening herself up to public scorn and following love with ladislaw. It seems that lydgate’s only options were to follow his ambitions and be a monster to his wife, or try to compromise his admirable dreams in order to make his marriage work. He put his duty to his family happiness first, much like his friend farebrother, and suffered for it. I think that’s why I ended up deeply admiring and pitying the character, though there were other characters I liked more
You are the first one whose channel I subscribed, because your reviews are ,simple, beautiful and precise and holds lot of information . I just love to listen to them. God bless you dear
Just wanted you to know that I loved this review. You literally had me laughing at loud with your character descriptions. I have Middlemarch on my shelf currently and need no more convincing to pick it up soon. Also, I love the idea of living a "ordinary" life and that's okay! =)
Bless you for holding up that tome for the whole review. The scene between Dorothea and Rosamund was for me, the best scene in the whole book. The only thing that made me sad is that Mr. Farebrother didn't end up finding love.
Did Claire mention the 1996 British TV series of Middlemarch? I loved this. And for people who are not sure if they want to wade through the lengthy book, starting with the TV series is a good way to see if you find the story interesting enough. My mother, who was an English teacher, said this was her favorite book and begged me to read it (I'm more a non-fiction person.) She even offered me $100. After I saw the series, I read the book ........ and then was so happy with both experiences that I returned my mother's money. The pleasure this story gave me was worth a lot more than $100. My mother especially loved the book's final paragraph about "the growing good of the world is party dependent on unhistorical acts." For her last birthday (the last of her life, that is) I got her a biography of George Eliot. I also typed out that last paragraph into a powerpoint slide and printed it out. Then I put it into a wooden picture frame and gave this to my mother. She said the framed paragraph was the best gift she ever received. Claire, I have too much to say about Middlemarch to write it here. Would you be willing to give me your email address so that I could write it for you?
I start watching your videos from the time you makes me laugh when you did the review on rupi kaur milk and honey, and your other videos are interesting, because you know real poetry when you review them
Your reviews are incredible. I'm only 100 pages in and there were few spoilers, just enough to give me the idea of the book without over indulging in things I'd like to discover on my own. Your style of reviewing is also very relatable to our generation and 'no bullshit' honesty which I always appreciate in humans 😍
I first read Middlemarch 50 years ago at age 20, and have read it or parts of it every few years ever since. I remember once going through it just to read Fred and Mary's story. Anyway, if Lydgate is a tragic hero (and he has the characteristics of a Greek tragic hero) it is because his higher ambitions are spoiled by his character flaws. He is a terrible judge of women but that is based on something more fundamental, a kind of snobbery and assumption that he always deserves the best and most beautiful, without looking deeper. So he marries a woman with a narcissistic personality disorder. I think Farebrother is such a wonderful character because he is old enough to have a sense of self-awareness and can look at himself with irony. I also think Bulstrode's story is wonderful, and I love the way his wife responds after his fall - one of the best scenes ever. When I first read it, I fell in love with Will Ladislaw; I have read that his is less clearly drawn than the other characters because he was kind of an idealization of George Lewes, and Eliot was of course in love with Lewes and less able to see him clearly. It's possible, but she certainly communicates that love. I really enjoyed your review.
Thanks so much for this lovely comment, Rachel! I love all of your thoughts here, and I am really looking forward to revisiting Middlemarch many, many times in the years to come :)
OH HOW I LOVE THIS BOOK...AND ELIOT'S ESSAYS AS WELL...TERRENCE MALICK'S NEW FILM "A HIDDEN LIFE" GETS IT'S TITLE FROM THE LAST LINES YOU READ..GREAT VIDEO AND ANALYSIS CLAIRE..I TAUGHT ENGLISH LIT AND GRAMMAR FOR MANY YEARS AND WOULD HAVE LOVED MORE STUDENTS LIKE YOU...
I know you wrote this 6 years ago. Middlemarch is my favorite book and I read it once a year. Your descriptions and explanations of the characters and situations are the best anyone has done. ❤❤❤
This Is one of the best reviews I have ever read/experienced/viewed. The main reason I am reading Middlemarch is because of this review. Claire is right on with her appraisal and insights.
This is my main pick for Victober this year. I just bought it not knowing much, got it, saw the length, and thought oh no! You just got me SO PUMPED for reading this (as a fellow 20 something.)
Ahh! I'm so happy to hear that! Thank goodness for Victober-it really gave me the motivation to finally tackle Middlemarch, and I'm so glad it did! It's such a rewarding read and a lot more entertaining, funny, and at times romantic than I thought it would be. Definitely let me know what you think of it!!
Have you seen the TV miniseries from the 1990s? It is well worth a worth. Though this isn't my favourite book ever, I do really appreciate it, and I love Ladislaw, Fred and Mary a lot. Fred and Mary. They are the best.
I have not! But I have heard you rave about it, so I will certainly check it out (although, controversial opinion I know, but on first glance I think I would have cast Rufus Sewell as Joshua Rigg instead of Will Ladislaw 🙈 is that too mean to say??). But yes, I love Will, Fred, and Mary, too-what a bunch of gems :)
Your review has kept me going lol. I SO want to love, understand and finish this amazing piece of work ...but geez it can be difficult at times. Your review has gotten me through one such time. Well done, and although this review is a f years old I hope you have accomplished a little more in your life than you may have thought possible.
Ahh, I hope you're still getting something out of it! I found it to be ultimately really worth it :) but yeah some of the political stuff was hard to get through haha
This is one of my top 5 books of all time. So many scenes just blow me away, like the description of Dorothea's culture shock in Rome, and Lydgate's gradual realizations about Rosamond's character. I most love the scene where Will tears into Rosamond after Dorothea discovers them together. And Mr. Brooke is just funny every time he opens his mouth. I do pity Lydgate intensely. I know he's a bit of a chauvinist, but back then I suppose most men were. They were raised to be. I hate Rosamond with the fire of a thousand suns. I love Bulstrode's inner thoughts as he agonizes over the appearance of Raffles. Fred, I confess, bores me a little. He's a puppy. But Will... even if he is a bit light, I love his reaction to Dorothea, and how he diffuses her intensity a little (in a good way.) I even felt for Casaubon, laboring in the dim light over something no one cares about. It's just about the best book in the English language.
Great review. I read Middlemarch when I was young too, in my early 20s, and found so many things relatable, like Fred, whom you mention. He's lost and young. Dorothea, idealistic and young. Lydgate, ambitious and young. This novel may have a rep as old and "classic" but in a thousand ways it's for young people. And still great as you grow older. A classic in the best sense. Love your enthusiasm for it!
Completely! I was 25 when I read it a few years ago, and while I'm looking forward to revisiting it at some point down the road, I'm very glad I was in my 20s for my first read :)
Such a lovely review! I enjoy the way that you make this classic feel so approachable and relatable... if I hadn't already read if before you would've definitely inspired me to pick it up! George Eliot creates such wonderful narrators... so warm and personable and always dropping the right kind of intimate details to create a rich, realistic portrayal of a community. I love the ending of this book so much... it's really what elevated this book from good to great for me. The metaphor of the wide powerful river fracturing into smaller canals has really stuck with me. Glad you enjoyed this book! I had fun watching the miniseries after reading the book, so if you miss the world it's a nice way to return to Middlemarch :)
Thanks so much! I love the ending, too, and I totally agree with you - I enjoyed the book all the way through, but I wasn't sure if I thought it was an incredible book until I got to the end. And now I will have to go and check out the miniseries! :D
Hey again. I tagged you on the Apple Tag video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1JCEBdNgM6c.html. It'd be fun to see what you come up with if you decide to do it at some point!
This is an excellent review! I also like the character Farebrother, but I don’t hear him mentioned in very many reviews. I happened on your channel tonight, and after watching the Villette review and this video, I subscribed. I need to re-read Villette. Claire Harmon’s book is wonderful, but so very sad.
Thank you so much for stopping by! And I know - I went and watched a bunch of Middlemarch reviews, and Farebrother really doesn't get his due! Haha, but I love him and find his storyline so subtle and moving. And Claire Harman's biography is really excellent - especially illuminating, I thought, when it comes to Villette. Have you read Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of Charlotte Brontë? I bought it after it was referenced so much in Harman's book but haven't gotten around to it yet.
I found out your channel when I was looking for Victober Videos and I have to tell you, I'm enjoying your channel very much!!!!!! I have started reading Middlemarch in March - I was enjoying it very, very much, but I also started working and haven't finished reading this yet. (I think I have read the three first parts) This review makes me want to finish reading this book!!!!! Thank you very much!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it so much! I really want to read this relatively soon. Such a great review and I love that it's relevant to a lot of millennials today.
What would be a good edition to read that has explanatory notes? (footnotes/endnotes). I see you have the black Penguin edition ... I love Penguin, but sometimes I get a copy that has teensy-weensy print, and it drives me crazy! My eyes are not that young anymore!! Can you compare the copy you have with other black Penguin editions (of other books) on your shelves, and see how the print compares?
The print isn't especially large in my edition, but I do love Penguin classics because they have great notes in the back...but that being said, I didn't actually read many of the notes because Middlemarch is pretty accessible and doesn't have too many obscure references, so if you find an edition with larger print but fewer notes, I'd say go with that one! :)
I can't wait to read it again in the future, at a different point in life. And I haven't watched the BBC adaptation - I didn't realize there was one, although I guess I'm not surprised!
I have been on the fence about whether or not to read this (I’ve read all of Austen and Brontë and some of George Eliot), but your review has given me the push and I cannot wait to read it! I’m so glad I found this channel! 😃
