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

Middlemarch

While reading George Elliot can benefit from a background in Theology and Sociology, she has made prophecy about our present time. Juliet Stevenson has made a great performance of this masterpiece, with her beautiful attention to dialect and the emotional nature of this work.

Deep dive in human nature

Aside from the less-favored wordiness, “George Eliot” (pen name for Mary Ann Evans) gives an intimate view of many personalities in an 1800’s English community. The emotions and frailties of each draw the reader into the entanglements, hoping for favorable outcomes.

No way to access chapters!

Unlike other Audible books, this one was not accessible via a list of chapters, so if you lose your place, forget trying to get back to it (there are 3 separate sections ~ and they are LONG, LONG, LONG!). Despite all this book’s wonderfulness, this fact made this rendition unbelievably frustrating.

One of the best books I've ever read

The best of everything, I can't repeat it enough. Such a joy to read and listen.

A Masterful Victorian Novel

If you could sum up Middlemarch in three words, what would they be?

Provincial, emotional, and masterful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Fred Vincy. His story evolves throughout the book, and he's imperfect but strives to better himself. In the beginning he's lost as to what to do with his life and his family is trying to push him towards a profession that he knows he'd neither like or is well suited for. In the end, after a very bumpy road he's able to achieve happiness although it's not in the form he once imagined it would be when he was younger. I feel like his story is similar to what a lot of young people go through and I empathized with him.

What does Juliet Stevenson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Juliet Stevenson as a reader. She is my favorite reader, and I have listened to a great number of her audibook readings. She nails the characterization of the characters she's reading and her voice brings so much warmth and life to the story.

Who was the most memorable character of Middlemarch and why?

The most memorable character is probably Dorthea Brookes because she is the central character in the book. A lot of the action in the book centers around her trials and tribulations. She also grows immensely as a character, and is sympathetic. I was surprised because in the beginning I didn't think I'd like her very much or relate to her but as the story progressed I found myself warming up to her to the point where are the end I was cheering for her.

Outstanding!

Where does Middlemarch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best audio books I've read so far because it's a perfect combination of voice and material. Juliet Stevenson is just outstanding as a narrator and perfect for a book that has so many characters and so much rich and complex language. She makes the voices distinctive.

What other book might you compare Middlemarch to and why?

The language of this book is classic 20th century so I am not sure there is a comparison to books I've read recently. The language is complex, richly populated with exquisite vocabulary and the point of view is rare among pieces of contemporary fiction.

What does Juliet Stevenson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A velvet voice, an impressive range of character voices and stellar accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's way too long. It is a book I didn't want to end.

Any additional comments?

This is a book for people who truly love language, characters and who are not looking for wildly plot driven pieces of work. This is a perfect portrait of a quaint village and it's inhabitants, beautifully rendered.

Certainly a Classic!

I can't say I loved it but I did enjoy it. There are many details to get through, many characters to remember. It was satisfying that in the end the main character found a satisfying life and love despite all and the loss of her fortune.

A Great Read

George Eliot's brilliant novel, enhanced by Juliet Stevenson's sharply honed performance of each character, makes this a great read. You may want to start it again as soon as you finish. I did.

Juliet Stevenson is an amazing narrator

What did you love best about Middlemarch?

I was absolutely blown away by Juliet Stevenson's narrating. It almost felt like I was listening to a stage play. She has an amazing understanding of the characters. Extremely enjoyable experience.

Wonderful reading of a favorite novel

Juliet Stevenson does a wonderful job of reading this complex novel. I cannot imagine the hours of preparation that went into her reading. She adopts unique voices for dozens of characters, who sometimes are not marked in the text explicitly as "so-and-so said this", so her voice and accent have to tell the listener who the speaker is. Additionally, the many characters represent different social classes and educational backgrounds, and her reading expresses these subtleties very well. One sometimes feels as though a dozen actors are reading the book. To make matters even more difficult, each chapter begins with a quotation, often in Spanish, Italian, French, or German. Juliet Stevenson reads all of these with expression and an excellent accent. I can't imagine who could read this book better!