Middlemarch

By: George Eliot

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins

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.

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Public Domain (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooks

a rare gem

the combination of intellectual finesse and full-bodied characters gives this novel an exceptional quality of enjoyment. the reader is well-spoken and creative in her enactments. a pleasure from start to finish.

A masterful novel masterfully read

MIDDLEMARCH might be the greatest novel in English and listening to Juliet Stevenson read it was blissful.

Brilliantly written and narrated...

After spending the last two weeks totally absorbed, I am so disappointed to have finished Middlemarch tonight. Eliot is brilliant at revealing the inner understandings, beliefs, and motives of men and women. As relevant today as in the Victorian period.

I feel like I lived there

“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.”

This book is a big undertaking. 35+ hours of listening, but for me they passed very quickly. I keep thinking of Belle singing "There must be more than this provincial life", but that's exactly what this story is about, a provincial town in England, and some of the principal inhabitants and their doings.

I liked that this was so much of a character study, everyone had their faults and no-one was blameless, the narrator talks of these people as if she actually knows them and displays a fair amount of dry wit in discussing them

The thing I liked least was that I couldn't bring myself to care about all the people in the same way, but Lydgate, Mary, Dorothea and Will will have always have a special place in my heart. Also, I feel the ending was very abrupt.

As for the love story it had some of the tenderest scenes I have ever seen, and I would have liked it to have played a bigger part in this

Juliet Stevenson does the narration, and she put so much feeling and color into the story, it was wonderful

Extraordinary

A true classic read superbly. A must for anyone interested in the best novels of the world.

A splendid interpretation of a classic

This complex and rich novel comes from the 19th into the 21st century through the remarkable vocal talent of Juliet Stevenson. Each of the many characters is animated with a rich and distinctive voice. Brilliant writing, beautifully read.

Juliet Stevenson is extraordinary

While the language of George Eliot may be as challenging as Shakespeare, hearing the narrative through Stevenson, is similar to experiencing a Shakespearean performance. It becomes much more understandable and truly remarkable. I have listened to many Audible books and no narrator comes close to Stevenson.

Guilty pleasure

This has been my guilty pleasure for the last month. A great, soapy soap opera performed by the very best reader I’ve ever heard. Phenomenal. I stuck with the book during slow times because of the reader.

A Story & a Performance for Our Times

A well-known fixture in the canon of Victorian English literature, I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to try and actually review it. There’s clearly a reason it’s a classic and it doesn’t disappointment.

So two things. First, while 2020 has turned most of our lives upside down as we wade through the coronavirus pandemic, getting lost in the English countryside of nearly 200 years ago provided grounding, if not comfort even. Because, although the tools we use to live our lives have changed dramatically, the philosophical questions we ask ourselves to find meaning are all the same. In short, you can relate.

And second, the narrator—the voice actor—is phenomenal. While I read some and listened some, at times I listened to portions I had already read just to hear the characters. I really got to know them through their own voices.

Amazing narrator

Juliet Stevenson does an amazing job bringing these characters to life. Truly, if you want to hear what audiobooks can be, try this one.