My Life in Middlemarch

By: Rebecca Mead

Narrated by: Kate Reading

A New Yorker writer revisits the seminal book of her youth—Middlemarch—and fashions a singular, involving story of how a passionate attachment to a great work of literature can shape our lives and help us to read our own histories.

Rebecca Mead was a young woman in an English coastal town when she first read George Eliot's Middlemarch,regarded by many as the greatest English novel. After gaining admission to Oxford and moving to the United States to become a journalist, through several love affairs, then marriage, and family, Mead read and reread Middlemarch. The novel, which Virginia Woolf famously described as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people," offered Mead something that modern life and literature did not.

In this wise and revealing work of biography, reportage, and memoir, Rebecca Mead leads us into the life that the book made for her, as well as the many lives the novel has led since it was written. Employing a structure that deftly mirrors that of the novel, My Life in Middlemarch takes the themes of Eliot's masterpiece—the complexity of love, the meaning of marriage, the foundations of morality, and the drama of aspiration and failure—and brings them into our world. Offering both a fascinating reading of Eliot's biography and an exploration of the way aspects of Mead's life uncannily echo that of the author herself, My Life in Middlemarch is for every ardent lover of literature who cares about why we read books, and how they read us.

©2014 Rebecca Mead (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Critic reviews

"The wonderful Kate Reading is the ideal narrator for this quintessentially British audiobook. She's a master of intonation and offers the most lovely of accents to enliven this unusual text." (AudioFile)

This Book is a Must

I will read this book again...and again. I bought it hard back and will mark the passages that are so at one with George Eliott. It is a must read just as Middlemarch is a must read. xo

A worthy read to better understand Middlemarch

I read Middlemarch as an audible.com book. This modern-day corollary is a must to understanding it. Rebecca Mead's curiosity about George Eliot, her family relationships, the people in her circle of friends, and the events of her time, all make this an essential complement to that book. I now want to re-read Middlemarch with a new sense of understanding about its characters and their creator.

A must for English Lit Lovers

This is a very interesting dissection of an important English writer's life and works, with a good tie in to the modern reader. This is not just a review of Middlemarch, rather it is a good look at George Eliot and her life, plus the influences on the writer's life. If you love English lit, you won't want to miss this.

A Reader's Pleasure!

I haven't actually finished this book but I decided to write a review because I am enjoying it so much. I look often to see how many people have left reviews for books while I am reading them because I like to know if others have had the same experience.

In this case there don't seem to be many Audible readers so far, and I don't find the Amazon reviews very satisfying since the quality of the narrator is such an important part of the experience for me.

From the minute I read about this book's publication I have wanted to read it. I loved reading 'Middlemarch' many years ago and recently listened to the Juliet Stevenson audible version (highly recommended). For many years the book had intimidated me when I was young - I was afraid I would not be able to get through its density. I was quire surprised one day to pick it up and fall right in. Yet it took me thirty years to return to it. Having heard so recently the wonderful Juliet Stevenson narration It seemed perfect timing to experience someone else's experience of the book.

I find this sort of literary reflection both interesting and rewarding because I really like to know how others experience books I have loved. I would like so much to discuss these sorts of topics with serious readers and I hope that others will read this book and take the time to reflect on their impressions. As I am listening to Mead's book I feel like I am enclosed in a comfortable armchair, encompassed in my reading the way I was as a child, even though I am in reality sitting on an uncomfortable New Jersey Transit banquette. It's like being able to talk to a good friend about the things you really care about.

One criticism I have of the performance is that I am fond of Kate Reading's fiction narration, but I find it less satisfying for a non-fiction book. She has a storytelling musicality that lilts at the end of sentences but that just doesn't seem the appropriate rhythm for non-fiction. That said she is an excellent reader who makes the text easy to understand, just not perfect for this particular book.

Great Listen

if you are interested in George Elliot and Middlemarch. you will like this book. The reader does a perfect job.The writer did amazing research and wove her personal story into the narrative perfectly.

Great Companion to Middlemarch

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed My Life in Middlemarch, which I listened to as an audio book immediately after finishing the audio book Middlemarch. I was expecting a memoir, which it was to some extent. But to a greater extent, it was a biography of George Eliot. It told the story of Eliot’s life as it related her writing and to Middlemarch. It greatly enhanced my understanding of both Eliot and Middlemarch. I’d highly recommend My Life in Middlemarch as a companion to the reading of and/or listening to Middlemarch.

I also found a graduate paper titled: Louisa May Alcott and George Eliot on Class, Gender and Marriage written by Elizabeth Michelle Meyers in December 2010. I’m going to read it, because I think it will be an interesting read and may help me better understand the works of both authors.

Sumptuous and transporting

Whether or not you have read Middlemarch, you will adore this exquisitely written, deeply felt memoir, which combines autobiography with literary criticism. It’s a work of beauty. I savored every word.

Wonderful find for lovers of good literature

Part biography of George Elliot, part literary critique of "Middlemarch", part autobiography of Rebecca Mead and how "Middlemarch" influenced her life. I listened to "Middlemarch" first (fabulous reading by Juliet Stevenson-accept no substitute!) and am glad I did it in that order. Enjoyed both immensely.

Quite Good

I listened to middlemarch, adored it, and wanted to learn and think more about the book. This served the purpose really well. The insight into Eliot and the book were exactly what I wanted. The author also explains her own personal relationship with the book. I valued that a lot. The narrator does a very good job. There should be more of these - when I finish a book like this I really want to have a chance to think more about it and absorb an overview of the scholarly critical views on the book.

Great for fans of English Literature

I've been a George Eliot fan for decades, and this book helps her to take her place in the pantheon of great English novelists and influential Victorians. This was a very engaging read, not dry or boring at all. Eliot was a dynamic, impressive person and this interesting read brings that out quite well. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Eliot, and furthermore I think anyone interested in Jane Austen will find Eliot to be another author that they will grow to love if they give her novels (particularly Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda) a read.