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Mill on the Floss
by George Eliot
The gripping story of young and independent Maggie Tulliver.
This story is centered on the life of Maggie Tulliver, the youngest and clever daughter of the Tulliver family. Her superficial mother has much distaste for Maggie’s dark coloring, intelligence, and tomboyish ways. Although her father often sides with Maggie in disputes she relies mainly on her older brother, Tom, who she idolizes. But Tom frequently disapproves of Maggie’s ways, which crushes the young girl. Though Tom is not as intellectually gifted as Maggie their father opts to pay for him to receive an education rather than have him take over the family mill. This decision provokes an argument between Mr. Tulliver and his wife’s sisters who have lent him money in the past.
Tom goes away to school and is visited several times by Maggie who befriends a fellow student of Tom’s, named Philip Wakem. Philip happens to be the son of Mr. Tulliver’s enemy, Lawyer Wakem. They have been engaged in a lawsuit which Mr. Tulliver eventually loses, rendering him bankrupt and sickly. The Tulliver’s mill must be auctioned. It is then purchased by Lawyer Wakem adding to the humiliation of Mr. Tulliver, who is demoted from owner of his mill to manager. Later on Philip and Maggie fall in love and attempt to hide their relationship, but when they are caught by Tom he berates Philip and makes Maggie swear never to see him again. Tom ultimately comes up with enough money to pay off his father’s debt, but sadly immediately afterward Mr. Tulliver dies. The story of Dorlcote Mill and the Tulliver family continues as the readers are taken through Tom and Maggie’s adventures, hardships, and loves.
Mill on the Floss was written by a woman named Mary Ann Evans in the mid-nineteenth century. Evans went by the pen name George Elliot in order to achieve success as a writer and published Mill in three volumes. It is a vivid and moving tale of family rivalry and sibling relationships. The Mill on the Floss is a literary classic.
Title: Mill on the Floss
Author: George Eliot
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192833642
Review written by: Jennifer Kneisley
Reviewer's Rating:9
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 1
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