

Despite comic elements, Middlemarch is a work of realism encompassing historical events: the 1832 Reform Act, the beginnings of the railways, and the death of King George IV and succession of his brother, the Duke of Clarence (King William IV). Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. The novel is set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during 1829–1832, and follows several distinct, intersecting stories with a large cast of characters. Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by the English author George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), first published in eight instalments (volumes) in 1871–1872.

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