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The Road to Middlemarch
The Road to Middlemarch: My Life with George Eliot | Rebecca Mead
At the age of seventeen, Rebecca Mead read Middlemarch for the first time, and has read it again every five years since, each time interpreting and discovering it anew. In The Road to Middlemarch she writes passionately about her relationship to this remarkable, much-loved Victorian novel, and shows how we can live richer and more fulfilling lives through our profound engagement with great literary works. Published when George Eliot was fifty-one, Middlemarch has at its centre one of literature's most compelling and ill-fated marriages, and some of the most tenderly drawn characters. Its vast canvas incorporates the lives of ordinary people and their most intimate struggles. Virginia Woolf famously described it as 'one of the few English novels written for grown-up people', and Mead explores how the ambitions, dreams and attachments of its characters teach us to value the limitations of our everyday lives. Interweaving readings of Middlemarch with an investigation of George Eliot's unconventional, inspiring life and Mead's reflections on her own youth, relationships and marriage, this is a sensitive work of deep reading and biography, for every lover of literature who cares about why we read books and how they read us.
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quietjenn
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Figured now might be a good time to finally read this one, with all things MM fresh in my mind.

jlhammar I‘ve had this on my shelves for years. Haven‘t read it yet so look forward to your thoughts! 2y
quietjenn @jlhammar Same! I'm actually attending this library copy with a digital arc in my files. 🫤 2y
JenniferP A really enjoyed this! 2y
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Ruthiella Oh yeah! I forgot about this book. I too will take special care to see what you think. Maybe I‘ll pick it up if you like it. 2y
quietjenn *alternating, not attending. Someday I will proofread thoroughly before posting ... 2y
kspenmoll I read this after my first read of Middlemarch- thinking of rereading it. 2y
66 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Leftcoastzen
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#ArtfulAugust #booksAboutBooks Geez , I bought this a long time ago.I love Middlemarch , but read it years ago , my plan was to reread Middlemarch , then get to this book. I‘m easily distracted, what can I say?

batsy I had grand plans to read it soon after it came out, as well. Someday we'll get to it 😁 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚👍🏻📚 2y
Eggs 🥳📚😍 2y
51 likes3 comments
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smilingshelves
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#cleartheshelf Day 5 - 81 pages read

I was hoping to finish this one today, but didn't quite make it. I've got about 30 pages to finish up tomorrow, then on to the next book!

Total - 582/1,692 pages
1/5 books

34 likes2 stack adds
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smilingshelves
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#cleartheshelf Day 4 - 77 pages read

I'm enjoying this book, but it probably isn't the best choice for a quick read. Glad I banked some pages in my first few days!

Total - 501/1,692 pages
1/5 books

ImperfectCJ This one's on my TBR! I meant to read it while I was reading Middlemarch, then after I finished Middlemarch, and now it's been so long I should probably re-read Middlemarch before I read this one. :-) 4y
smilingshelves @ImperfectCJ I did reread Middlemarch last year in preparation for this. I had first read it in college. Turns out I hadn't remembered anything, so I'm glad I reread it! 😄 4y
27 likes1 stack add2 comments
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smilingshelves
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#cleartheshelf Day 3 - 134 pages read

I finished The Other Einstein this morning. It got rather depressing at the end, but it was a fascinating story. I started the tagged book this afternoon. It's unsurprisingly a slower read, so we'll see if I can keep up my goal of 100 pages a day!

Total - 424/1,692 pages
1/5 books

BucklingBookshelves Seems like you got some extra pages in the bank from the first book — hopefully that helps! 📚 4y
smilingshelves @BucklingBookshelves That's true! I am almost a whole day ahead. 😊 4y
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smilingshelves
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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These five books have been languishing on my read-soon bookshelf, some of them for months. I'm determined to get them all read by the end of May to clear the way for my June reading plans. 1,692 pages to go! #cleartheshelf

Lcsmcat Snowflower will break your heart, but it‘s so good! 💔 5y
smilingshelves @Lcsmcat I own a couple books by Lisa See, but this is the first one I'm reading. I'm really looking forward to it! 5y
BucklingBookshelves That‘s a lot of pages for 2 weeks — good luck! Just curious ... is this an official challenge or a personal project? I probably should do something similar, but maybe with a smaller stack! 😆🤷🏼‍♀️📚 5y
smilingshelves @BucklingBookshelves It's about 100 pages a day, which is definitely over my usual average. We'll see how this turns out! It's just a personal challenge. I was tired of somehow never getting to these books, even though they've been waiting for me for months. So here goes! 😃 5y
28 likes4 comments
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Jen2
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

Good!

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Eyelit
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Because everything is coming up Middlemarch lately... I found the tagged book while shelving at the library today and thought it fortuitous - and then two other titles caught my eye (though that top one is a serious case of #coverlove) 😂 #libraryhaul

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Pam.Kokomo
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

The author weaves her own story with those of Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) and the characters of Eliot‘s most beloved work, Middlemarch.

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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

As it turns out, the article I read in my first semester of college as an intense, naive, eager 17 year old that introduced me to the existence of a book called Middlemarch was written by Rebecca Mead. This book seems to be the full articulation of the ideas presented in that article. I‘m so glad I read this book, and she has officially sold me on at least attempting to read Middlemarch. The biographical information on George Eliot was great.

GingerAntics I always do enjoy the story of the mind behind a good book. This book itself was a bit long and wandering, but not completely in an annoying way. It was quite charming, actually. It reminded me a bit of Cat‘s Eye (by Margaret Atwood) in tone. #mylifeinmiddlemarch #middlemarch #rebeccamead (edited) 6y
jmofo I love Middlemarch. It was my first Eliot book and my favorite, so far. Juliet Stevenson‘s reading of it is beautiful. She does not play up the humor nor does she deny it its power. She‘s sometimes a pensive reader, so it‘s a wonderful cozy read. (edited) 6y
GingerAntics @jmofo the version my library has is read by Kate Reading. I think it‘s the same person that read this one, in fact. I guess we‘ll see when it comes in. I‘m on the waitlist. You‘re actually the first person I‘ve found who has actually read it. (edited) 6y
jmofo @GingerAntics I love it so much, it‘s been a couple years, if you want to do a relaxed buddyread with it, I‘d be down. 🤓 (edited) 6y
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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Isn‘t this the case with any good book that leaves an intense impression on a person?
#reading #reader #books #bookschangelives #rebeccamead #mylifeinmiddlemarch #middlemarch

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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Holy mother of god I can‘t get away from David Hume. Somehow he ends up EVERYWHERE!!!

#help #davidhume #middlemarch #mylifeinmiddlemarch #rebeccamead

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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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This is so true about every book. Sometimes I wonder if I‘ve read the same book as someone else. The answer is yes...and no. Physically, our books are one and the same. What happened in our minds, however, is a much different affair.
#readerproblems #mylifeinmiddlemarch #rebeccamead #middlemarch #readinglife

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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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George Eliot/Mary Anne Evans did not hold back. She said/wrote what she thought and too bad if you don‘t like it.
#georgeeliot #mylifeinmiddlemarch #rebeccamead

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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Somehow, this memoir surrounded by the book Middlemarch has not veered into As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet, and (of all things - god help me*) Hamlet.
#mylifeinmiddlemarch #rebeccamead #shakespeare #asyoulikeit #romeoandjuliet #hamlet #hamletandophelia #shakespearereadalong

*trying so hard to stay focused on this book, and not slip into contemplating just how long Hamlet and Ophelia have known each other...and other things about them.

readinginthedark Weren't Hamlet and Ophelia friends for a long time? I might be remembering this wrong... 6y
GingerAntics @readinginthedark it‘s never explicitly said, but it is alluded to that they have probably known each other since they were kids. Reasonably, they may have been betrothed to each other until Hamlet started acting strangely. Hamlet‘s words alone suggest they were probably sleeping together before he went to University and/or when he came home to visit, but since his father‘s death they haven‘t (maybe he‘s had a headache). 6y
readinginthedark "Maybe he's had a headache." ? That's so funny! I think you're right. The modern movie interpretation with Ethan Hawke and Julia Stiles definitely plays it off that way. 6y
GingerAntics @readinginthedark 😂The Gregory Dorian version with David Tennant plays it that way as well. It‘s not quite as overt as the Ethan Hawk version, but that intimacy and familiarity is definitely there. He‘s got all that anger and rage in there. He‘s probably clenching his teeth. I‘m betting on a headache.🤣 6y
readinginthedark 😂🤣 6y
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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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GingerAntics
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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The language in this book is art, plain and simple. If what Mead got out of Middlemarch is just what she claims, this book is proof that a flourish with language is also something she got out of it. #middlemarch #mylifeinmiddlemarch #rebeccamead

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Becker
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Dynamic Duo for a summer weekend.

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Lissa00
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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I never find good books at my local Dollar Tree but I found all of these while visiting one on vacation!

TaylorMay Don't worry me either. 😢 7y
dgingo I didn‘t know that Dollar Tree sold books! 😳👏🏼 7y
Lissa00 @dgingo They do! Although, I rarely find any that I want to buy. This was a lucky day:) 7y
dgingo @Lissa00 Good to know—I‘ll be on the lookout! 7y
112 likes4 comments
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mayusteapot
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Really looking forward to getting to read this finally!

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LeahBergen
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Next up!

I just finished reading Middlemarch and find myself sad that it‘s over. This mish-mash of memoir/ author biography / literary criticism is keeping me in that small Midlands town for just a little bit longer. ❤️

merelybookish I really liked this! 7y
DGRachel Ooh, I read and loved Middlemarch in college. Maybe I need to reread it and grab this one! 7y
Leftcoastzen This has been on my TBR for a while . 7y
batsy I need to read this! And I know what you mean about the post-Middlemarch blues 💙 7y
rubyslippersreads I need to read both. 7y
112 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Suelizbeth
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Giving my eyes a break and listening to this gem. #24in48

llwheeler I'm also listening to an audiobook narrated by Kate Reading right now, what are the odds ☺ 7y
catebutler I loved this book! This would be great as an audiobook. If I re-read maybe I'll have to give it a listen. 😊 7y
Suelizbeth @catebutler It is quite interesting and Kate Reading's narration is wonderful. 7y
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

I love the concept of a memoir about the effect of a novel on your life. This is not, however, what this book is (misleading blurb & title). It's old fashioned biographical literary criticism with a touch of memoir. I find the lit crit very interesting but more memoir would have made a stronger book that appeals to people who haven't read the novel. Also not sure why the author didn't read the audio; the actor they chose didn't esp. suit the book.

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Juneofthemoon
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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My new digs has so many great reading spots, but my deck at sunset is one of my favorites!

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Suelizbeth
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Just listened to the first chapter to give my eyes a rest. A very interesting book, so far. #LitsyPartyOfOne #24hrtbrreadathon

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Juneofthemoon
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Diving into these two today to join a read-along. I love Middlemarch and am excited to read these two in tandem.

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Gulfsidemusing
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Starting a new #audiobook on my walk this morning. Have you read My Life in Middlemarch?

Jenshootsweddings I wish my audiowalk looked like your audiowalk 8y
Gulfsidemusing @Jenshootsweddings I'm savoring every step this month! It will be time to head north soon... 8y
EvieBee I haven't read it, it it's been sitting on my virtual shelf for a couple of years now, since finishing Middlemarch. 8y
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CouronneDhiver Great scenery for a walk! 8y
Gulfsidemusing @EvieBee84 I read Middlemarch several years ago and am FINALLY getting around to this one! 8y
Gulfsidemusing @CouronneDhiver sure is!😎🌴 8y
ScrappyMags That's good scenery for some good walkin!! 8y
Gulfsidemusing @ScrappyMags thanks, I love it here!😍 8y
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Haley_Noel
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Keeping because my partner is the Fred Vincy to my Mary Garth (although he has his life together more than Fred does...).

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Haley_Noel
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

Some books are classics for a reason. I completely adored Middlemarch, and Rebecca Mead's book was the perfect way to fangirl about it afterwards. Longer review here: https://adventuresoffsyllabus.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/my-month-in-middlemarch/?...

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Jassinboots

A richly wrought bibliomemoir that you will unreservedly love, if you ever loved George Elliot, books and stick-beaming into the life of a writer. This book is tastier than steaming hot soup on a blizzard-struck day and warmer than a hand-knitted alpaca-wool scarf. This book will travel loyally by your side and rescue you from your day's quest, plunging you purposefully into Rebecca Mead's bookish epic to Middlemarch and back again.

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kspenmoll
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#GuiltyLove #MoreBooks #bookhaul
My resolution to abstain from book buying failed.🙁📚

quirkyreader Unfortunately it happens to all of us. My weakness is Dollar Tree. 8y
kspenmoll @quirkyreader I totally agree re DollarTree & every other store...! 📚📚📚📚 8y
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BooksForYears
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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#Booktober Day 11 - Memorable Memoirs

These are three of the most unique and interesting #memoirs I've ever read - MY LIFE IN MIDDLEMARCH is the author's life experiences through the reading of George Eliot's MIDDLEMARCH, M TRAIN is Patti Smith's memoir told through the cafés where she's worked, and THE OREGON TRAIL follows the author and his brother as they attempt to make a historically accurate recreation of The Oregon Trail.

RanaElizabeth The Oregon Trail was so great. 8y
BethFishReads Did you read Smith's Just Kids? That was really good too 8y
BooksForYears @BethFishReads I did! My library had a copy of the audiobook, which is narrated by the author. So good! 8y
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BethFishReads Yes great audio. 8y
Gulfsidemusing The Oregon Trail was so interesting... what an adventure! 8y
kspenmoll Loved My Life in Middlemarch! 8y
kspenmoll @BethFishReads - only just finished Just Kids- now want to read My Train. Saw Patti Smith in Sept 2015 at an opening for A Tort Museum of Ralph Nader's design -she both spoke & sang a few songs accompanied by her daughter. 8y
BethFishReads Oh wow. What a great evening. I haven't gotten to M Train yet 8y
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ultrabookgeek
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
Pickpick

If you aren't reading Middlemarch with a group or instructor or if you are reading it for the first time - I recommend reading my life in Middlemarch as a helpful companion. You learn about what shaped Eliot's life and the reflections in her novels and characters. Best read after the first read through of Middlemarch as is it a reflect of reading the novel many times.

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Lacythebookworm
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Lacythebookworm
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Thanks to @Spiderfelt for this Middlemarch read along recommendation! I've only read a couple of chapters and it's already opened up my reading of Middlemarch ❤️

Chessa What a great idea to read them together! 8y
Yamich49 Oooo I have this one on my bookshelves but haven't read it yet. I'll be interested to see what you think of it. 8y
WordWaller I've shelved this in our store before and I thought it looked so interesting! 8y
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Lacythebookworm @Yamich49 I'll be sure to report back! 8y
Spiderfelt Yay! So glad. That exactly how I felt. 8y
kspenmoll I absolutely loved this book- my sister adored Middlemarch & got me to finally add it to my stack- between she and this book i plan to@tackle it! 8y
LeahBergen I bought this to read AFTER Middlemarch (to prod myself into reading it). Would you recommend reading it after or during? 8y
Lacythebookworm @LeahBergen I would say go ahead and read it during! It's a nice break from Eliot's flowery, dense language. How far along are you in Middlemarch? 8y
LeahBergen I haven't started it. 😬 Maybe I'll let myself get part way into Middlemarch before starting (and use it as a reward, of sorts 😉) 8y
Dogearedcopy I thought I should read 'Middlemarch' before I read MLIM; but I didn't get very far at all (It's probable not a good sign when you want the main character to die!) But I like this idea of using 'My Life in Middlemarch' as a companion read. Maybe I'll be able get through George Eliot's prose that way! 8y
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Cobscook
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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This book started out strong but dragged at the end. I liked that it was part biography of George Eliot but I didn't feel I really got to know the author and why her connection to Middlemarch was so important to her life.

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Sydsavvy
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Pickpick

A New Yorker/ writer gives us a modern and historical view of Eliot's great novel Middlemarch. I keep thinking about these books as I'm reading "The Summer Before the War."

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Cobscook
My Life in Middlemarch | Rebecca Mead
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Loving My Life in Middlemarch so far. I didn't expect so much of it to be about GeorgeEliot herself but I am digging it.

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