Middlemarch by George Eliot is a richly detailed novel set in a provincial English town in the early 19th century. It weaves together multiple storylines, focusing on Dorothea Brooke, an idealistic young woman who marries the much older scholar Edward Casaubon, hoping to find intellectual and spiritual fulfillment but soon realizes the marriage is unfulfilling. Parallel to her story is that of Tertius Lydgate, an ambitious young doctor whose progressive ideas and poor financial choices lead to personal and professional struggles.

The novel also explores the lives of other townspeople, touching on themes of marriage, ambition, reform, and social change. At its core, Middlemarch examines the complexity of human motives, the limitations of individual aspirations within society, and the quiet heroism of everyday lives.

It is widely regarded as one of the greatest English novels for its psychological depth and broad social vision.