Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Middlemarch  By  cover art

Middlemarch

By: George Eliot
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $63.90

Buy for $63.90

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.

Dorothea Brooke is an outstanding heroine; Middlemarch is filled with characters that are vivid and true, comic and moving. It is one of the greatest novels in the English language.

Public Domain (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooks

Featured Article: It Was the Best of Scribes—The Best British Authors


With its esteemed history and bold contemporary scene, Britain lays claim to some of the most exciting literature in audio. With the hundreds of incredible British writers throughout the centuries, a person could devote their whole literary life solely to British authors and still never run out of amazing things to listen to. Whether you're an avid Anglophile or just want to discover the best English novelists for yourself, here’s a list of the best for you to choose from!

Editor's Pick

It’s never too late to be swept away by a classic
"Despite many recommendations and glowing reviews for the George Eliot classic, I’ll admit I was intimidated by its length. Now, I’m sorry I waited as long to hear this magnificent classic novel as I did. I am NOT sorry that I chose the edition narrated by the unparalleled Juliet Stevenson. It’s timeless, beautiful, and flawlessly narrated. Do not be afraid to give yourself over to this enduring classic romance."
Catherine H., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Middlemarch

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,746
  • 4 Stars
    846
  • 3 Stars
    284
  • 2 Stars
    100
  • 1 Stars
    91
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,955
  • 4 Stars
    438
  • 3 Stars
    118
  • 2 Stars
    38
  • 1 Stars
    48
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,235
  • 4 Stars
    858
  • 3 Stars
    291
  • 2 Stars
    94
  • 1 Stars
    82

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Still relevant in so many ways.

Sometimes a book can have a stronger impact on a reader because of where that reader happens to be in their life at the time that they read it. Had I read 'Middlemarch' when I was younger, I don't think I would have been as moved. I love a writer who creates complex characters who are forced to choose between following their own innate sense of right and wrong or live their lives bound by the demands of societal/religious dogma. The fact that Ms. Evans had to write under the pen name George Eliot because she was considered "too intellectual" speaks volumes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Really, really long...

If it hadn’t been for the most fabulous narration, I don’t think I could have tolerated this book. It was an intriguing peek into a different era and culture with interesting characters, (and again, I give the narrator most of the credit for that) but I don’t think much would have been lost had it been about 15 hours shorter. I’m glad I plodded through it though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wish I Had Audible at School (45 years ago)

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I have already recommended it to my sister, who like myself has now gone soft and is an avid reader (whilst I prefer to listen due to to much time on PC at work).
I have 300+ books in my collection and love to safe 5 STAR Books in my "Audible Bank" to listen too when making my 12 hour journey back home from my work in Saudi Arabia.
I have just finished Middlemarch, and it is one of my prized assets in my "AB", and it will always be on my IPod to listen to again whilst stuck in the Airport.
I checked out Middlemarch on Wiki and could agree with:
“Virginia Woolf gave the book unstinting praise, describing Middlemarch as "the magnificent book that, with all its imperfections, is one of the few English novels written for grown-up people."[4] Martin Amis and Julian Barnes have cited it as probably the greatest novel in the English language”.
George Eliot’s prose is just fantastic and I marvel how she could use such language, which along with the superb narration by Juliet Stevenson made this an outstanding listen for me.


Who was your favorite character and why?

There are so many prominent characters in the book, (and on my first listen I just soaked upt the quality of the language and the narration), that I don't have a favourite character yet. Maybe I will when I listen to it again.

What I liked is the number of characters, the insight into their virtues, weaknesses, flaws, and how the landed gentry interacted with each other.

Have you listened to any of Juliet Stevenson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will certainly do what I do some of my other favourite 5 Star Listens (books I wait 5 mins in the car before going to the office and have marked down to read again), I will check out Books with the same narrator. This is what I like about Audible, the narrator can really make the book come to life.

Who was the most memorable character of Middlemarch and why?

The difference between this and the preceding Question is too subtle for me !!

Any additional comments?

My collection of Auible Books, which is very eclectic (Espionage, History, Thriller, Young Adult,Comedy, Biography, Military), is my one vice, and I am always happy to find a Gem like Middlemarch.

I have bought a number of Classic Books from Audible, and so far Middlemarch has been both the best and most enjoyable for me.


Middlemarch is somewhere near my all time favourites:

Tinker, Taylor Soldier Spy
Nobel House
Open (Andre Agassi)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An essential Victorian novel, superbly read.

What made the experience of listening to Middlemarch the most enjoyable?

George Eliot must be one of the most gorgeous prose stylists who ever wrote in English. Her psychological insights are astounding. But just looking at the many pages and the small print in the book itself is daunting -- so it's lovely to have it read to you by a first-rate reader.

What other book might you compare Middlemarch to and why?

I think the brilliant novels of Edith Wharton -- especially "The House of Mirth." But, because of the complex double- and triple-plotting, something by Dickens is probably the closest match. To me Eliot is superior to Dickens.

Which character – as performed by Juliet Stevenson – was your favorite?

Stevenson is a superb reader, but I think her male voices are a bit exaggerated and often do not fit my visual image of the characters. Her female voices (surprise!) are the most effective. This temptation of readers to "act" everything out is often more of a distraction than an asset.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire saga of Dorothea Casaubon is a moving feminist statement, but Eliot carefully balances this with the saga of the young doctor, Tertius Lydgate. The plotting is amazingly good.

Any additional comments?

One of the great books in English. Belongs on a Top Ten list.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Pulp Fiction...without the violence.

As of the writing of this review, I did not finish the entire novel, only the first download section.

Stevenson's narration was very good. She gave each character it's own voice and was able to convey some of the subtle humor.

What irked me the most about Middlemarch is that it is not a story solely about Dorothea, but rather a series of vignettes that concentrate on different characters that might only have an indirect connection to each other. Just when I was starting to get interested in what the fallout might be from Dorothea's marriage, the focus of the book shifted to new characters and I lost track of things completely. Part of this might because of the audio format, since with a physical book I'd be able to see where things picked up again, and where the new characters came from, but when I got to the end of the first download section and I had to make a decision as to whether to continue or not, I realized that I wasn't getting anything out of it except frustration.

If you like stories where characters talk about this and that with little or no bearing on the plot of the story, and you have an unnatural interest in the philosophies of Victorian England, this is great stuff. Elliot's characters talk about the rights of women, what makes a good marriage, there is even some mention of the science of the time. But if you want a good arc of a character, and you like a little action in your dialogue, this might not be for you.

There are some definite gems here, and I'll probably finish this sometime, because there's likely to be more. One part of the first section goes into the past of a doctor, who fell in love with a murderess. That was interesting, even though it didn't seem to connect with anything else. It was a lot like the story of the pocket watch in Pulp Fiction.

And in fact, putting aside that the conversations go on far too long to be enjoyable in their own right, the novel is a lot like Pulp Fiction, or more accurately like Slackers or Clerks. What you have is various situations set up that seem to exist for the sole purpose of allowing characters of different viewpoints to talk. Unlike those movies though, there isn't a shock to give punctuation to these dialogues, they just fade in and out like lights on a Christmas tree. Since a lot of the topics of conversation revolve around things that are rather antiquated by now, many of those lights of conversation have lost their luster.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Engish is sublime but no head or tail to the story

The English language is really well used, but the whole thing is like a gossip column with very very very boring characters and nasal voices. It is actually boring. Don't waste a credit...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Good LORD. I CAN’T pick it up.

I’m 60. I’m somewhat a widow. My fiancé passed and I’m trying to find ways to keep my mind active not put it to sleep. I’m aware we each have our preferences but this monstrosity is what nightmares in begone days were made of. Dorethia needs a stiff drink. Her husband needs too many things to include in this critique, and her uncle needs a back bone. If he had had one he wouldn’t have allowed his underage niece to marry a pervert. I don’t know what chapter I was on when I finally came out of my stooper, but I quickly deleted Middlemarch from my device and I’m now paroozing the Audible selections for an action packed story I can sink my brain into without fear of going comatose.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre

Beautiful, rich prose. Shows off the English culture, customs of the era and provincial life in depth. However, as my conscious mind does appreciate George Eliot's work and the contribution to the English literature, the work itself did not evoke feelings in me (its characters or plot did not impress on my soul).
The novel missed something... A certain passion, something that connected you to the characters. I almost disliked Dorothea and her beloved. There was not enough fire in them. And they were both so stuck in their own political, social, matrimonial ideologies that it took away from me, as a reader, the pleasure of connecting and experiencing their love alongside them. The same goes for Fred and Mary.
I'm glad I got to read a George Eliot work but I don't think I'll be re-reading this work or any other work by her.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book, unparalleled narration.

This is the first book I read by George Eliot. It is no wonder it was considered her best book and a gem of British literature! Her keen perception of human nature is well depicted in the characters and dialog. I have not wanted to begin listening to another book since I finished Middlemarch so as to not erase the awe George Eliot's writing inspired. It is not lost on me that she was self-educated, lived in the mid-nineteen century and that this book may have contained many autobiographical details.

Now, the narration was brilliant! Juliet Stevenson's performance was the best I have ever heard. What a talent for bringing to life dozens of characters through the change in speech's tempo, sound, and accent. In retrospect, her superb narration seems the only match to such superb writing. I felt transported to the best seat of a theater for 35 hours, having the pleasure of attending the most gifted, priceless performance by a gifted actress. Yet, I was in the comfort of my own home or walking the dog or driving long distances. A feat of technology I so appreciate.

I highly recommend this book and narration - a combination not soon to be forgotten.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Even Juliet can't save this one..

Juliet Stevenson is remarkable, a truly gifted actress and narrator, but even she cannot save this tedious monstrosity of drivel. Absolutely one of the worst written books I have ever tried to listen to. The author goes off on ego stroking tangents as if he's bound and determined to show us he knows ALL the best words, all the big words..no matter that he's being incredibly -boring- on his senseless ravings. Seriously, just give this one a pass.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful