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A Serial Reading Guide for George Eliot's Middlemarch (Patreon)

Published:
2021-11-17 14:37:44
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

The first reader of George Eliot's Middlemarch would have been able to pick up the first of the novel's eight instalments from the 1st of December 1871.

Book One, 'Miss Brooke', was around 110 pages of psychologically complex realist prose unlike anything readers had seen before. 

This first volume sold for 5 shillings (roughly £15 in today's money), sold 5,000 copies, and introduced readers to some of the most beautifully and compellingly drawn characters in all of literature.

So let's pretend we are that first reader and see how we might follow the course of this masterpiece (cited by many, alongside Moby-Dick, to be the greatest novel ever written in English) as it was designed to be read.

Here is the edition I'm working from for the lecture series:

This is a great option for those wanting to follow along with the exact page numbers. It's also a great option for marginalia (which I strongly encourage).

Everyman's Library, in both it's modern version and the older two-volume set I showed in the above video, and the Oxford World's Classics editions are also fine choices.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 recommended edition of Middlemarch
  • 2:00 getting comfortable with serial reading
  • 3:30 connecting with the spirit of the first reader
  • 4:50 why read in serial form?
  • 5:30 the genius of George Eliot
  • 7:13 the publication history behind Middlemarch
  • 10:00 the first instalment of Middlemarch
  • 11:00 how to read in serial form
  • 12:00 the original publication schedule 

Questions for You:

1) Middlemarch is one of those books that fans reread slowly and consistently across the course of their life. A reading following George Eliot's original serialised publication schedule is incredibly rewarding. Have you ever undertaken such a reading project before? If so, how did you find it? If not, what do you imagine the challenges and rewards to be?

2) What is your current relationship with George Eliot? Are you revisiting her? Or seeking to make her acquaintance for the first time?

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

A Serial Reading Guide for George Eliot's Middlemarch

0:00 recommended edition of Middlemarch 2:00 getting comfortable with serial reading 3:30 connecting with the spirit of the first reader 4:50 why read in serial form? 5:30 the genius of George Eliot 7:13 the publication history behind Middlemarch 10:00 the first instalment of Middlemarch 11:00 how to read in serial form 12:00 the original publication schedule

Comments

Lori Miller

This is the first time I’ve undertaken a reading project like this, and I am every excited. I’m not anticipating any challenges. I like to read multiple books at the same time, so this will fit right in with my style. One of the rewards I’m anticipating is getting to feel like a Victorian reader. This will also be my first George Eliot novel.

Jetzabel Peniche

Hi Ben and Everyone, I am starting late in this new adventure with Middlemarch and I am going to follow what you asked Ben. I just got my book and going to start 1st book. Sorry that I have been away . Just got busy with the first 6 months of 2022 but I am able to have more my time . Miss all of you !

hardcoreliterature
>>85322690

Hi Jetzabel :) This is so exciting to hear! It's lovely to have you here with us - we've missed you too! Life has a tendency to get busy. I personally read a lot less during stressful times. I really hope everything is okay on your end, and I can't wait to hear what you make of George Eliot's Middlemarch!