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How to Read Middlemarch by George Eliot (10 Tips) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-12-18 17:39:19
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Today's discussion on George Eliot's Middlemarch is completely spoiler-free, and is designed to prep you for deep engagement with one of the greatest novels ever written in English.

We're talking about using the chapter epigraphs to unlock themes, contextualising Eliot's world in light of the Age of Reform, using Wordsworth's Romantic Manifesto from Lyrical Ballads to frame our reading, and much more.

As we are playing "First Reader", remember that the year is 1871 and the first instalment of Middlemarch, 'Miss Brooke', has been available for purchase in England since the start of the month and would have begun its run in the American Harper's Weekly two days ago.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the reputation of Middlemarch 
  • 1:14 choosing a worthy edition 
  • 2:00 instalments vs single volumes 
  • 3:00 writing in the margins 
  • 5:30 noting the chapter epigraphs 
  • 8:00 persevere & take your time 
  • 8:48 cracking the prelude to the novel 
  • 9:20 Eliot's psychologically complex characters 
  • 10:20 read the novel as essay  
  • 12:20 read into the Age of Reform 
  • 16:20 reading Middlemarch serially  
  • 17:00 the publishing history of Middlemarch 
  • 19:50 reading complimentary writers 
  • 21:00 Wordsworth's Romantic Manifesto 
  • 22:38 read to enlarge your sympathies 
  • 23:45 journal upon your impressions 
  • 24:45 discuss the novel with other readers 
  • 27:45 share your thoughts on Middlemarch

Good Editions of Middlemarch:

Questions for You:

1) How are you finding the serialised approach for reading Middlemarch? Does this change your reading habits? Do you find it difficult or enjoyable to portion only small amounts at a time? 

2) What do you make of the world, and characters, Eliot has created thus far? What tools do you see Eliot using to build such a complex and layered narrative? And what effect does this all have on you? 

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

How to Read Middlemarch by George Eliot (10 Tips)

📚 Read Middlemarch in Serial Form with Hardcore Literature: https://www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature/about ———————————— 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/70IZA24... (Subscribe to the Hardcore Literature Podcast on iTunes & Spotify) 🏫 https://hardcore-university.teachable... (Hardcore University, Exam Preparation Courses) ✍🏼 https://benjaminmcevoy.com My Personal Website ———————————— Hardcore Literature Lecture Series ———————————— 📔Contents Page: https://cutt.ly/CmNhRY3 🎖️ War and Peace: https://cutt.ly/U3nzGma 🎭 Shakespeare Project: https://cutt.ly/B3nxHH7 🐳 Moby Dick: https://cutt.ly/K3nzVKf ☄️ Blood Meridian: https://cutt.ly/P3nz6Qp 🍂 Wuthering Heights: https://cutt.ly/N3nxxYt 🇮🇪 Ulysses: https://cutt.ly/x3nxQmN 🚂 Anna Karenina: https://cutt.ly/vmNhAWv 💀 Crime and Punishment: https://cutt.ly/rmNhFt5 ⚓ Persuasion: https://cutt.ly/amNhX7b ☕ In Search of Lost Time: https://cutt.ly/5mNh8oD ⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: https://cutt.ly/UmNjrE3 🌸 Siddharta: https://cutt.ly/YmNjuzi 🎠 Don Quixote: https://cutt.ly/cmNjoK4 ❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: https://cutt.ly/nmNlW7V 🇫🇷 Les Misérables: https://cutt.ly/J3YixoA 🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: https://cutt.ly/nToAQQ3 🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: https://cutt.ly/9ToAybt 📖 Middlemarch Serial Reading: https://tinyurl.com/45rv965c ———————————— 0:00 the reputation of Middlemarch 1:14 choosing a worthy edition 2:00 instalments vs single volumes 3:00 writing in the margins 5:30 noting the chapter epigraphs 8:00 persevere & take your time 8:48 cracking the prelude to the novel 9:20 Eliot's psychologically complex characters 10:20 read the novel as essay 12:20 read into the Age of Reform 16:20 reading Middlemarch serially 17:00 the publishing history of Middlemarch 19:50 reading complimentary writers 21:00 Wordsworth's Romantic Manifesto 22:38 read to enlarge your sympathies 23:45 journal upon your impressions 24:45 discuss the novel with other readers 27:45 share your thoughts on Middlemarch

Comments

Rashmi

I’m reading this book alongside War and Peace in 2023. I have to reread many sentences in MM to get the meaning and frankly, I cannot even then understand some phrases but I’m appreciating her intelligence and language on the whole. The lectures make the experience so much more richer.

NicoleA

I am looking forward to attempting the serial reading pace. I feel concerned that I may forget what I have read but that seems easily remedied by giving it a lot more contemplation. Thank you!

HappyKnitter2020

Hi, I'm reading Middlemarch during May - June 2025. Have started to read up to chapter 7 and I am loving how she presented the characters.

Angela Montgomery

I listened to Middlemarch as an audiobook, since I had already read it 15 years ago. I wish I had reread it instead. It is so rich that it merits annotating.

Kelly R.
>>172977412

I am too! I am in chapter 14 now. We should keep a regular discussion going if we can :) I'm trying to read it somewhat serially, aiming for the end of the year to finish. Where are you up to now?

Kelly R.
>>175209517

I totally agree! I am doing both, because it's so dense that I find the audio causes me to miss some of the depth and richness, and when I go back to annotate it also leads to some re-reading.

Dr Jenny

Belatedly in August 2025, I've returned to Middlemarch.

Dr Jenny

I studied Natural Science and subsequently Medicine 50 years ago in England. Now have had a hip replacement and am after many years of busy activity confined to rest and a coupe of daily exercises. I decided that George Eliot would be my companion and soothe my regret that I hadn't studied English Literature...

Adrienne

Am going to start today with a serial reading pace. Plan to read book 1 this week, then set an alarm to pick it up again in December. I finished Rebecca with the book club and needed something to read so jumped to Jekyll and Hyde today. I picked up Sense and Sensibility at the library so will read that as I wait to read the next book club pick and the next installment of Middlemarch. Very excited to dive into this book as I have heard it referenced a lot in the lectures.

Maria Penfold

My heart bleeds for Dorothea . Her guardian should have sent her away on a Grand Tour !

Stuart Leviton

Hello everyone. I am new here. Middlemarch will be my first encounter with George Eliot. The few things I am aware of in this picture come mainly from E.P.Thompson's book The Making of the English Working Class. Great book. Mr Thompson is a gifted writer. Toleration is a key virtue for the English. England's revolution, a peaceful revolution other than that only her King was decapitated, occured a century before 1789 in France. Toleration among the various religions meant England had a different political tone. This could be seen in the "Peterloo" massacre which Shelley wrote about in The Mask of Anarchy. The event termed Peterloo was a working class demonstration in Manchester during the Napoleonic war. Government troops opened fire on the crowd, killing many. England's reaction to the massacre was shock. People were outraged that one English man could fire a gun at another English man. That massacre sealed in that the English would essentially be non-violent and the police would be unarmed. This contrasts the United States where our labor history includes the killing of workers during strikes at the coal mines, steel factories, railroads, even the assembly of workers such as Chicago's Haymarket Square Riot. Since I have not read Eliot, I do not know if she will cover the work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftsbury in educating the working class and helping to reduce the work day to twelve hours (I think) including limiting the number of hours worked on Sunday so that workers could go to church and also to be taught to read. This was important for though the intent was to have workers read the bible in English (already a recipe for disaster since understanding the bible requires knowledge of Hebrew. An example is that when the bible says God told Abraham to go to a new land that. I will show you, the Hebrew can be read in two ways one of which is to physically soujourn but the other and more important is to go within through which the bible is actually an instruction manual on how to create a strong spiritual person who is also a fierce warrior. Thank you for allowing me this digression).... but to finish my sentence, that not only would a worker be able to read a bible, but they could also read other works such as on making revolution.

Halcyon Distilled

Hi Ben, I like the low, background music. It’s not distracting. To my ear, is a welcome complement. Just in case you were wondering…Thank you for the tips. I have to say while I am enjoying the dynamic and the dialogue, I have not worked perhaps hard enough to “crack” the pre chapter segments. I will work on that. I have my reaction to the first one but I’ll keep it to myself for now. I was hoping you would provide a brief overview in your lectures. Google might be a bit vast to find my answers and/or I need to research and think more. I read Don Quixote a long time ago so I’ll have to bring out my book to brush up on Mambrino. I have an issue with the pacing though as I enjoy the book so much. I am employing some techniques from your MA how to read a book video however and I can tell they are making a difference. I am also writing down questions at the end of each chapter which seems to then give me the ability to pick things apart. Already identifying myself with a couple of the characters. I think about what I read throughout the day which is a good indication that it’s a great book I’m reading. That’s my metric. Same with movies. Ive also re read some beautiful parts and underlying And jotting as always… Cheers!

Dee

Thank you for the tips Ben. I bought a Penguin copy of Middlemarch from a local bookshop on Christmas Eve and have been happily reading (and working on your tips) in between the festivities. I haven’t done a serial read before and the first effect is the wonderful sense of time it gives, a lovely antidote to feeling rushed and overwhelmed by modern life! It makes it so much easier to slow down and reread passages and to have a little look into the political and philosophical theories that are referenced. There’s also an audiobook version (on YouTube) of The Maid’s Tragedy by Beaumont and Fletcher, quoted in the epigraph to chapter one, that might be worth a listen. I’ve read two chapters and am getting the uncomfortable feeling that Dorothea has some big shocks coming.

hardcoreliterature
>>73978367

Hello Stuart :) It's so wonderful to have you here, sharing your first encounter with George Eliot with us. I hope she becomes a dear friend of yours over the course of the year - as she has mine! Thank you for adding such beautiful historical commentary here!

hardcoreliterature
>>74084806

Thank you, Beatrice! I'm thrilled that you like it. I put quite a bit of effort and cost into sourcing the musical tracks, and I was quite pleased with the one I found here, so I'm glad you like it too :) You've made me very curious about your reaction to the first segment - I look forward to hearing it whenever you wish to share it! I completely relate with the struggle to keep the pacing. Eliot has crafted such a vivid world, one that it's so enjoyable to simply live in, that it really is difficult not to devour it. I wonder how the first readers would have felt in the lead-up to those days in which the next segment hit the bookstalls. It sounds like your reading is going so well, and it's really interesting to hear that movies have the same effect. I find this too :) I watched It's A Wonderful Life just the other day, and automatically tied all of the themes into the books we are enjoying - and, of course, I wept too!

hardcoreliterature
>>74455147

That sounds like a very special book-buying experience, Dee! And I love how you've responded to the serial reading approach - "a lovely antidote to feeling rushed and overwhelmed by modern life" - perfect way of putting it! It really is such a nice reminder to slow down and enjoy the journey, to check into the present moment every now and then. Very nice recommendation of The Maid's Tragedy audiobook. It would be so wonderful to hear from readers who follow that rabbit hole! As for Dorothea... Your feelings are very perceptive! To quote Maria above, my heart bleeds for her.

Anne Hardin

Yes I am very much enjoying this first read of Middlemarch. (I first read George Eliot over 60 years ago! I read Silas Marner and a few other stories). I always wanted to read Middlemarch and have started Miss Brooke. I signed up with HLBC in mid January and am backtracking here and playing catch up. But all in all a great experience. Thank you Ben for your enthusiasm.

Lori Miller

The “tips” videos are so helpful getting me into the proper mindset. I’ve never read using a serialized approach, so I’m excited to see what it adds to my experience. I purchased the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, which is beautiful but doesn’t include notes. Drats! I’m going to roll with it. I may enjoy not being distracted by the notes. Plus, if I love Middlemarch as much as I think I will, I plan a reread in 2023. I’ll reward myself with another version of the book. I’m just beginning, but I imagine that Eliot’s care in richly drawing her characters and presenting them with all the challenges and outside pressures human beings face will make me very sympathetic towards them. I also imagine that she writes with respect towards her readers (thinking of Virginia Wolfe’s quote, "one of the few English novels for grown-up people") by including multi-dimensions (social, historical, moral, psychological) and that will add to the complexity and depth. I’m also looking forward to thinking and journaling about how the epigraphs connect to the chapters, especially knowing how much care Eliot took to collect them.

Jason Merchey

Hi all, it is Middlemarch that caused me to want to be a part of the group. The freebie video I saw on YouTube made me think I'd want to go ahead and support the enterprise, and thereby get a hold of some more robust content! Looking forward.

Jonathon Glover

I joined the Book Club earlier today and really love the idea of trying out serialised reading. I’m going to read a book a month, and allow the new publication to come out on the first of each month. However, I must add that the pre video’s that I have just watched about Middlemarch are outstanding and have me so excited for exploring this novel, as well as Crime and Punishment and Shakespeare into the future. Having a better understanding of how the novel was developed within into publishing constraints, and the way it circumnavigated it, is fascinating. And that is without even talking about the upcoming content for 23.