She also was a genius at creating full-blown characters. A few years back, Middlemarch came out first in a poll I conducted for BBC Culture of the 100 greatest British novels as voted by critics from the rest of the world. Eliot seems both Victorian and modern, with a sense of point of view that quietly undermines the realism of the novel. Pritchett, Julian Barnes, Martin Amis, Rebecca Mead. Jane Ciabattari: The admirers of Middlemarch include Virginia Woolf, as you note, Emily Dickinson, V.S. Maybe that’s why Virginia Woolf called it “one of the few English novels for grownup people.” Every time I read it I understand something (or sympathize with someone) I didn’t understand (or sympathize with) before.
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