Middlemarch (1871)
0.4256Canon Score · ranked #11 all time
Aggregated from 9 of 14 authoritative lists, weighted by authority and adjusted for each list's scope and age. How scoring works →
About the book
Eliot’s epic of 19th century provincial social life, set in a fictitious Midlands town in the years 1830-32, has several interlocking storylines blended effortlessly together to form a fully coherent narrative. Its main themes are the status of women, social expectations and hypocrisy, religion, political reform and education. It has often been called the greatest novel in the English language.
Why it ranks #11
Every list on which Middlemarch appears, with its position as published.
| List | Authority | Position |
|---|---|---|
| The Novel 100 (Burt) | Editorial list | #8 / 100 |
| BBC Big Read Top 200 (2003) | Editorial list | #27 / 200 |
| BBC 100 Stories That Shaped the World | Major international poll | #55 / 100 |
| OCLC/WorldCat Top 500 Novels (2019) | Editorial list | #112 / 500 |
| Bokklubben World Library (2002) | Major international poll | Selected |
| Guardian 1000 Novels (2009) | Critics' canon | Selected |
| 1001 Books You Must Read (union) | Critics' canon | Selected |
| Bloom, The Western Canon (1994) | Editorial list | Selected |
| Telegraph 100 Novels (2009) | Editorial list | Selected |