hardcoreliterature

'Middlemarch' and the Rise of the Reading Public (Patreon)

Published:

2021-11-28 18:35:16

Imported:

2026-06

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Content

This is the story of how the first instalment of Middlemarch hit bookstores in December of 1871.

This is also the story of you - that first reader, and what it would have meant to have George Eliot's work in your hands.

Video Timestamps:

0:00 meeting George Eliot
4:17 the year of Middlemarch’s publication (1871)
4:50 George Eliot and George Henry Lewes
7:00 Blackwood’s Magazine
8:00 the publishing history of Middlemarch
10:15 George Eliot vs Charles Dickens & Victor Hugo
11:00 how Eliot began writing Middlemarch
11:45 the long short story ‘Miss Brooke’
12:20 the decision to combine multiple stories
13:00 the “quarry” for Middlemarch
13:55 the three-volume novel (“triple-decker”)
14:00 Mudie’s circulating and lending library
15:30 the cost of books in the late 19th Century
16:40 who could read books at the time of Middlemarch?
17:30 women’s literacy and working hours
19:00 the success of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
20:30 the publishing contract and success
21:00 George Eliot, superstar writer
21:20 English vs American publication history
22:00 John Blackwood’s initial concerns
22:30 publication of book one, ‘Miss Brooke’
24:00 the early reviews of Middlemarch
28:19 Henry James’ review of Middlemarch
30:45 Nietzsche, Emily Dickinson & Virginia Woolf on Eliot
31:35 1st December 1871
32:30 the first reader of George Eliot’s Middlemarch
34:40 how did the first reader enjoy the novel?
37:00 what other writers shared the bookstalls of 1871?
37:30 the month of December of 1871
38:00 the phenomenally wet year of 1872
39:00 what would your family have looked like?
40:00 you are that first reader of Middlemarch

As you prepare to read the first book of Middlemarch ('Miss Brooke'), remember that you are that first reader.

You will soon chance upon that first volume in its attractive cover at your favourite bookstore, as you make your way home through the bitter cold.

What would it mean to lay your hands on the work?

How would the circumstances of being a reader in 1871 influence the way you read the novel?

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

'Middlemarch' and the Rise of the Reading Public

0:00 meeting George Eliot 4:17 the year of Middlemarch’s publication (1871) 4:50 George Eliot and George Henry Lewes 7:00 Blackwood’s Magazine 8:00 the publishing history of Middlemarch 10:15 George Eliot vs Charles Dickens & Victor Hugo 11:00 how Eliot began writing Middlemarch 11:45 the long short story ‘Miss Brooke’ 12:20 the decision to combine multiple stories 13:00 the “quarry” for Middlemarch 13:55 the three-volume novel (“triple-decker”) 14:00 Mudie’s circulating and lending library 15:30 the cost of books in the late 19th Century 16:40 who could read books at the time of Middlemarch? 17:30 women’s literacy and working hours 19:00 the success of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables 20:30 the publishing contract and success 21:00 George Eliot, superstar writer 21:20 English vs American publication history 22:00 John Blackwood’s initial concerns 22:30 publication of book one, ‘Miss Brooke’ 24:00 the early reviews of Middlemarch 28:19 Henry James’ review of Middlemarch 30:45 Nietzsche, Emily Dickinson & Virginia Woolf on Eliot 31:35 1st December 1871 32:30 the first reader of George Eliot’s Middlemarch 34:40 how did the first reader enjoy the novel? 37:00 what other writers shared the bookstalls of 1871? 37:30 the month of December of 1871 38:00 the phenomenally wet year of 1872 39:00 what would your family have looked like? 40:00 you are that first reader of Middlemarch