Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Elliot (Mary Anne Evans/Marian Evans)
There was a Facebook meme that posed the question “Austen or Elliot?”
A lot of people disparaged Austen in their responses, and thus since I have enjoyed Austen recently (2008: The Year of Reading Austen), I figured I should give Elliot a try.
I will have to say that I found Middlemarch fights a good, strong, somewhat superior fight, but Austen was not totally KO’d1.
The writing is engaging, the characters many, and much wit is to be had.
I had bookmarked several quotes that stood out as I read, but looking back at them, they lose something out of context, so I’ll just have to ask you to take me at my word that it’s an amusing book.
Perusing Wikipedia, I see there’s a new film adaptation coming out 2009/2010.
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1 See Nick Hornby’s March 2004 essay involving battles between artistic works in his Stuff I’m Reading column, including Middlemarch vs. “The Magic Flute”.