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

Best Audible book ever

I have been an audible listener for close to five years now and this is the best book I have ever listened to. I hated this book in college and,if it hadn't been for a friend who suggested I try it again,I would have continued to hate it. I now say pish on my earlier self, this is a fantastic story and George Eliot is an insightful woman whose perspective on life is timeless. But the very best part of this listen is Juliet Stevenson. Oh my, what a narrator: I may be forever spoiled by her mastery. My favorite characterizations were the stuffy Englishmen whose voices were so perfectly captured that I was in awe each time I heard them. This is a must read.

Loved Middlemarch and Juliet Stevenson!

This book has been on my to-read list for years. This year, I read a a very positive review of Juliet Stevenson's narration in Booklist and decided that the time was right...and I loved it!

Without a doubt, she is one of the best narrators I have ever listened to - ranking up there with Jim Dale, George Guidall and Scott Brick.

Plus, Middlemarch, which had been highly recommended to me by friends who knew I was a fan of Jane Austen, was wonderful. It's a big, big novel, but it really is a timeless classic, full of observations about people that still ring true today.

Give it a go...you won't regret it.

I will listen to anything Juliet Stevenson reads

I have purchased Middlemarch read by a different narrator before and simply could not listen to it. It was boring, and very long.
Well, when I have learned that Juliet Stevenson has produced this book, I have purchased it right away and was not sorry. Amazing skill of the narrator brought all the characters alive and made this 19th century piece of literature very relevant in our modern life. George Elliot was one sharp woman and knew how to develop her characters. Brilliant!

Perfect in every way

This is a remarkable book.

Listening to it being read -- so very beautifully by Stevenson -- allows the listener to absorb the many dimensions of this classic. There is the subtle humor and the witty and insightful political and social commentary. Then there are the calls for the liberation of women, not only on a social level, but urging women to recognise their own position in the society of the 1830s and respond even if it only within the confines of their family.

The main heroine, Dorothea, is remarkably portrayed: she could be a woman of 2012: she is ruled by a confused idealism, wanting to contribute positively to an unequal and unfair society and work towards higher philosophical understanding of the nature of existence. At the same time, she has tragically unrealistic expectations of a marriage where she believes she can help achieve her partner's fulfillment rather than her own. The male characters range from self absorption and selfishness, directionless laziness, caring partners: again these men are recognisable today. There is so very much in here.

But to return to the reader, Juliet Stevenson. She has a wonderful voice, her acting out of characters is superb -- and most of all, she shares her understanding of what Eliot was endeavoring to convey in this apparently ordinary story about ordinary people in an ordinary little town in England.

Above star rating irrelevant.

While there were others that I read concurrently, for the past three months, I labored to finish this book. I did not finish reading it but I believe that I am finished trying to. This is not a short book but that was not the issue. I like long books. In fact, I generally prefer them but they must or I must have them engage my interest and imagination. Unfortunately this was not to be with Middlemarch. Maybe because I feel I am running out of it, I take time very seriously and books of this length require an investment. This was just not one I was willing to make that investment in.

There is a great deal to recommend about Middlemarch. A large cast of characters populate several plots with themes that are of interest to me personally: religion of which I subscribe to none, politics of which I have a love/hate relationship (especially the politics of medicine), philosophy which never ceases to intrigue and education which is my vocation. Virginia Woolf had high praise for Middlemarch as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people." It has been described as one of the most important English novels almost since its publication.

The character development is deep with rich descriptions of provincial life. Almost from the beginning of this tome, I was drawing parallels with Jane Austen who also considers some of the same themes. Jane Austen, however, never comes across to me as quite so didactic or preaching. For me these were almost shouts that came through the narrative. And it wasn't that Eliot wasn't preaching to the choir. She was. I guess I just prefer to have my authors quite disappear in a book. Here I think Dickens is much better at considering social issues without exposing himself carrying around a placard about some kind of injustice.

I might also add in its defense that I felt Eliot's psychological studies of human nature with all of its flaws and complexity were also particularly well done. Contrasts between idealism and reality are very nicely drawn. I'd better stop at that. Thinking of all of its merits, I'm liable to pick the damn book up again. Too many times, as my friend Jen said, "I felt like throwing the book across the room." No mas!

Having barely finished half the book, I am even less qualified than usually to critique this fine piece of literature. Suffice it to say that it was mostly the pace of the book failed to hold my interest and I just gave up. I want to say that I will return to it someday but I probably will not.

Because I did not finish reading this book, the above star rating is based on an Internet average. Audible does not allow submitting reviews without putting in a star rating first.

Juliet Stevenson is a genius

Ordinarily, I would begin a review with an evaluation of the actual book rather than the narrator but in this case, Stevenson was SUCH a standout that I had to begin with her. To say that she inhabits each character fully is to sell her performance short. I remember Stevenson from the movie version of Emma in which she plays Mrs. Elton so wonderfully snarky and politely arrogant. But this narration shows her talents to a greater degree. Not only does each character have a different sounding voice, but one can practically hear their thoughts as Stevenson brings them to life.

What is so perfect about this amazing performance is that it makes a somewhat challenging novel much easier to manage. There are so many characters and so many story lines that Eliot brings together so beautifully (eventually) that a reader can easily lose track. Several of the characters are not easy to like, a few are like-able at first and then become less so, some are not like-able at first and grow on you. It is a lot to keep up with. But the story is well worth the investment. Eliot is wise and funny. Her take on the relationships between men and women is insightful. Well-deserving of its status as one of the greatest books ever written.

I gave the story only 4 stars because there isn't much that actually "happens." It is not an exciting story. The story is really in the every day happenings of the characters. That is where the true genius lies.

Juliet Stevenson -- not perfect -- but CLOSE

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

One of the best audiobooks I've listened to.

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

Juliet Stevenson is always fantastic. This might be my favorite of her narrations, though.

Who was the most memorable character of Middlemarch and why?

Rosamond. Stevenson (and Eliot) depicts her in her complexity brilliantly.

Any additional comments?

If you're considering M-march as an audiobook, ignore reviewers recommending other narrators (a few of which I've listened to as well), GET JULIET STEVENSON.

Juliet Sevenson brings it alive

I tried to read Middlemarch in highschool and again in university but could never sink in. What was missing for me was Juliet Stevenson's narration. Her skill makes this masterful story much more accessible and a pleasure to experience. Eliot's wit sparkles through in this performance.

George and Juliet - the magic of Middlemarch

My first exposure to Middlemarch was as a teenager when my older brother read it to me. He was studying it at University and I was still in school. I loved it and the book became one of my favourite books after Pride and Prejudice.

Then I watched the BBC serialisation of Middlemarch when I was a bit older and it meant more to me and I loved that too.

But the Juliet Stevenson version is quite simply the one that was meant by George Eliot. It is masterpiece. I will treasure it for ever. The fact that one single human being can interpret the nuances of tone and texture of so many personas is remarkable. I am not sure who is the more remarkable artist; George Eliot or Juliet Stevenson. I fell in love with Juliet Stevenson when I happened upon a small English movie called something like deeply madly and I knew she was a star.

Perfect in every way

This is a remarkable book.

Listening to it being read -- so very beautifully by Stevenson -- allows the listener to absorb the many dimensions of this classic. There is the subtle humor and the witty and insightful political and social commentary. Then there are the calls for the liberation of women, not only on a social level, but urging women to recognise their own position in the society of the 1830s and respond even if it only within the confines of their family.

The main heroine, Dorothea, is remarkably portrayed: she could be a woman of 2012: she is ruled by a confused idealism, wanting to contribute positively to an unequal and unfair society and work towards higher philosophical understanding of the nature of existence. At the same time, she has tragically unrealistic expectations of a marriage where she believes she can help achieve her partner's fulfillment rather than her own. The male characters range from self absorption and selfishness, directionless laziness, caring partners: again these men are recognisable today. There is so very much in here.

But to return to the reader, Juliet Stevenson. She has a wonderful voice, her acting out of characters is superb -- and most of all, she shares her understanding of what Eliot was endeavoring to convey in this apparently ordinary story about ordinary people in an ordinary little town in England.

All consuming

Great audio book. It has totally disrupted my life over the last days because I've stayed awake to listen, not been able to work because I couldn't stop listening and thinking about it whilst not listening. Really brilliant reading and I will be totally bereft when it finishes in about an hours' time. Best audio book I've had for ages.

A great book enhanced by a brilliant narrator

I first read Middlemarch many years ago and much enjoyed it. Browsing through the audible website recently I came across this version read by Juliet Stevenson and downloaded it on impulse. Since listening to it, I have been recommending it to anyone who will listen. Juliet Stevenson is a wonderful storyteller - she captures the mood of the book and the personalities of the characters. The combination of a good narrator and good book is irresistible - I resented every interruption!

Juliet Stevenson's astounding tour de force

The book is excellent, of course, but Juliet Stevenson's narration is an astounding tour de force. Characters are many, demanding all tones and dynamics - from those of deep-voiced or husky males to silvery, pacific or spiritually conscious females. All are convincingly manifested. Overlaying their natural timbres, the acquired tones of experience convey characters as middle-aged & deeply earthed, shallow, criminal, loving, hating, Oxbridge intellectual & innocent, enthusiastic, bumpkin, familial, old & wavery, drunk, idealistically or dully clerical, brilliantly or spitefully medical and otherwise totally various. Every character is believable and immediately recognisable throughout the entire performance of this very long book.
I feel obliged (if unwilling) to mention that I found most of the introductory quotations to each chapter, in various languages, long and (even when in English) incomprehensible. Such quotations were, I assume, written for the reader to slowly cogitate over, whilst looking to the drama ahead and waiting for their undoubted relevance to be revealed. Not only did I find the quotations extremely irritating, but I was really sad to find Ms Stevenson's rendering of those in Italian, French and German equally so. Even so I choose not to remove any of my 5 stars, which are, in my demanding estimation, totally deserved.

beautifully descriptive

I bought this audio book for something different to listen to and thought that listening to a classic may educate me into a different type of listening.
the book is beautifully descriptive which to start off with i found hard going as I wasn't used to this way of writing. However after a number of times wondering whether to give up or not I was glad i didnt as it was wonderful and found i was listening to it for hours in the middle of the night captured by the various characters who i felt i had begun to know and be part of their lives.
well worth pursuing

Resistance is, eventually, futile.

Posh society in nineteenth century rural England is not really my thing. Classic stories of reputation, honour and doomed love... Nah. not for me, I thought. But Middlemarch is supposed to be one the greatest novels.

Quite a claim. So when i had some work to do that meant I had some serious listening time ahead of me I begrudgingly thought i would do my duty. At first all was as I expected; an archaic story about stuffy and privileged people who need a kick up the backside... Where are the working people? Where are the servants and tenants?

But in time I put away my modern self and began to understand that the attraction is in characters that are so well drawn you understand them perfectly, and so believable are their actions and yearnings that listening to Middlemarch got steadily less and less tiresome. It became a quiet pleasure, and eventually a whole-hearted and peculiarly innocent JOY.

I may even have cried a little, though this seldom occurs to me and I would not tell anyone i know... ;-)

An absolutely superb reading by Juliet Stevenson too. Top of the class.

Highly recommended

If Oscars were awarded for audio-book narrations, Juliet Stephenson would surely be in the front line to win several for her multiple performances in Middlemarch. This inordinately long book is made to feel considerably shorter by her fine portrayals, giving each separate character his or her own distinctive voice.

A triumph!

I knew this book to be excellent but I was not prepared for such a feat of narration. Juliet Stevenson is outstanding! She creates a million different voices so that each character is instantly recognizable, and just seems to add to Eliot's depth of meaning. Every day I long to put my earphones in and just immerse myself in the story. Unmissable!!

Quite outstanding

If you could take only one audiobook to a desert island, this would have to be it! I have long been a fan of both George Eliot's work and of Juliet Stevenson's narration, but this surpassed all expectations. A well-crafted story brilliantly characterised.

Perfect

I have read the novel at least 5 times over the years but hearing the words read in Juliet Stevensons beautiful and flexible voice has added a unique new pleasure to the enjoyment of this great story. I found it perfect!

Middlemarch

One of the best written books, ever. I have read the book many times over the years, watched the BBC drama numerous times, and now I have enjoyed listening to it. A wonderful piece of English literature, superbly narrated by Juliet Stevenson.