George Eliot 
The Mill on the Floss 

The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot (the pen name of author Mary Ann Evans), published in 1860. The novel was originally published in three parts. It was very successful and was adapted into a film as early as 1937. It was Eliot’s second novel and one of her most successful of all time. The novel tells the story of Maggie Tulliver and her brother Tom as they grow from children to young adults in the small rural town of St. Ogg’s, England. Smart and passionate, Maggie yearns to develop her mind and break free of the constraints of her provincial village. Though she loves her brother above anyone else, Tom’s rigid, pragmatic personality often conflicts with Maggie’s headstrong nature, with increasingly tragic consequences. 

Through the characters of Tom and Maggie, Eliot examines themes of gender, education, and personality formation, and her portrayal of the town of St. Ogg’s is both a brilliant depiction of provincial narrow-mindedness and constraining social norms and an intelligent commentary on the changes to rural life brought about by the forces of industrialization.

‘The Mill on the Floss’ is an everlasting portrait of love, family, and individuals striving to create their own destinies, one whose words and characters resonate as strikingly today as they did for Eliot’s initial readers.