Part 1: Introduction
The life of George Eliot
George Eliot's literary career
A note on the text
Part 2: Summaries
A general summary
Detailed summaries
Part 3: Commentary
The social. economic, religious and political background
Religion and the Catholic question
Politics and the political system before reform
The origin and composition of Middlemarch
Structure
Authorial intrusion and the question ofcompassion
Feminist issues in Middlemarch
Patriarchy and colonisation
Dorothea and the question of tragedy
Themes of illusion and disenchantment
Character, circumstance and destiny
List ofcharacters
Part 4: Hints for study
Suggested study method
Key quotations
Revision questions
Part 5: Suggestions for further reading
The author of these notes