"Middlemarch" is writer George Eliot's crowning literary achievement and the novel is considered by many critics to be one of the finest pieces of fiction ever written. Written in the style of "realism" popular at the time, it is a study of the class and social structure of the fictional town of Middlemarch in central England and the story touches on all segments of life within the village, from the landed gentry to the working class and everyone in between. Primarily, however, the plot concerns the lives of the two main characters - Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate - both of whom find themselves mired in disastrous marriages. Brimming with small-town intrigue, jealously, betrayal and scandal, "Middlemarch" was a literary sensation when it was first published in 1872 and is now considered a classic for the ages. It is presented here in its original and unabridged format.