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Middlemarch cover art

Middlemarch

Written by: George Eliot
Narrated by: Maureen O'Brien
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Publisher's Summary

George Eliot's most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community.

Peopling its landscape are Dorothea Brooke, a young idealist whose search for intellectual fulfilment leads her into a disastrous marriage to the pedantic scholar Casaubon; the charming but tactless Dr Lydgate, whose marriage to the spendthrift beauty Rosamund and pioneering medical methods threaten to undermine his career; and the religious hypocrite Bulstrode, hiding scandalous crimes from his past.

As their stories interweave, George Eliot creates a richly nuanced and moving drama, hailed by Virginia Woolf as 'one of the few English novels written for adult people'. Middlemarch explores nearly all matters of concern to modern life, portraying an entire community and every class within it. Full of irony and suspense and even richer in character it shows how individual lives are shaped by and shape the community. Within Middlemarch, we find Eliot's ability to expand the audience's compassion and imagination.

George Eliot was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological insight. When Middlemarch was released Eliot was considered England's finest living novelist with many critics still regarding this novel as the finest in English.

A BAFTA winning adaptation of Middlemarch aired as a television series in 1994.

Narrator Biography

Maureen is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in Doctor Who where she starred alongside the original Doctor, William Hartnell. She then went on to appear in The Legend of King Arthur, Casualty, The Duchess of Duke Street, Taggart, Cracker, A Touch of Frost, Heartbeat and Jonathan Creek. In 1985 she made a rare film appearance in the comedy She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas opposite Julie Walters.

Maureen has also appeared in a number of stage productions, for example, The Relapse (Old Vic), The Merchant of Venice (Old Vic), The Archbishop's Ceiling (Bristol Old Vic) and Othello (Bristol Old Vic).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about Middlemarch

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Even better than reading

I love this book. The performance by O’Brien was sensitive and energetic. Her repertoire of accents is impressive. In my mind’s eye I had very clear pictures of all the characters, male and female, old and young. The narrative threads tie together beautifully.

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6 people found this helpful

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Stellar Performance of a Towering Masterpiece

I came to this reading of Middlemarch having already read it several times, so I knew what to expect. One of the greatest novels ever written. But the performance gave it an unimaginably greater quality. Not one false utterance. it magnifies the genius of George Eliot. in decades of listening to audiobooks, I have rarely if ever encountered such a stellar performance. Worth ilevery penny of your money and every minute of your time.

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3 people found this helpful

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A Great Novel

It was long, but it held my interest from start to finish. What a wonderful story, with memorable characters and intriguing complexity of relationships. I
am so glad I chose to read/ listen to
this novel!

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Brilliant!

The book is a classic for good reason: the depth of understanding of human complexity is astonishing and the use of language something to be savoured - delicious! The readers ability to distinguish among characters took it all to another level. Just brilliant!

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Enjoyable background noise

I listened to this long quaint story while doing artwork. It was entertaining. I confess, however, after listening to the full 32 hours I still could not keep the characters and relationships straight.

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Perfectly narrated!

Middlemarch is such a timeless classic and stuffy in societal ills and psychological repressions, disguised as a “Victorian” love story! The narrator brings each personality to life, in fact, I don’t think I’ll ever hear Celia in any other voice!

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Long classic, well worth it!

Brilliant book and absolutely talented performer/reader/interpreter! I could listen to her all day. And feel like I did because it’s a loooonnnng book!

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Great novel and outstanding narration

I was unsure about this at first but I was quickly drawn in by the wonderful writing, Tremendous skill and insight. The narrator is fantastic - incredible mastery of the prose and her ability to capture characters and accents is unmatched in my experience.

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A masterpiece

How had I not heard about this novel in 60+ years of reading? Wonderfully deep and evocative insights into human emotions and behaviour, prejudice and misanthropy, virtue and folly. Echoing Virginia Woolf’s comment about it, Middlemarch makes the more famous English novels from the 19th century (Jane Eyre, etc.) seem like children’s stories by comparison.

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Loved it!

I wasn’t sure about this book when I started, but WOW! Pleasantly surprised! Got attached the some of the characters, interested until the end!

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