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The Mill on the Floss
- Narrated by: Eileen Atkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
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The Mill on the Floss
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
'If life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie?'
The Mill on the Floss, first published in 1860, is considered one of George Eliot's most autobiographical works.
Having formed a complex bond with her own family, George Eliot, now known to the public as Mary Ann Evans, depicts the loving yet volatile relationship between the Tulliver siblings and their doting father.
Spanning over a period of 10 years, The Mill on the Floss follows the coming of age of the beautiful and idealistic Maggie, as she experiences family tragedy, forbidden love and the wrath of the English patriarchy. A sublime literary accomplishment which brings to question the very essence of what it takes to become a civilised and moral society, Eliot perfects the genre of psychological realism.
George Eliot was one of the leading writers of the Victoria era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and are said to have paved the way for authors such as Henry James. James continued to explore Eliot's revolutionary approach to literature, further introducing the public to a naturalistic genre far removed from the hyperbolic Dickensian narrative that had dominated the 19th century.
Narrator Biography
Dame Eileen Atkins is an English actress and screenwriter. Her breakthrough performance in the Broadway production of The Killing of Sister George paved the way for an astonishing theatre, film and television career. She is now a BAFTA, Emmy and three-time Olivier Award winner.
Eileen co-created the classic British series, Upstairs, Downstairs, alongside Jean Marsh, in 1971. She has also acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and been in numerous plays including, The Retreat from Moscow, Medea, A Delicate Balance and Vivat! Vivat Regina!
Her film credits include Magic in the Moonlight, Robin Hood, Last Chance Harvey, Evening, Gosford Park, Jack and Sarah and Equus.
Eileen's passionate and diverse narrative style makes her an Audible favourite and can also be heard in The Winter's Tale and King John by William Shakespeare, Angela Carter's Wise Children, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads 2 and Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives Tale.
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What listeners say about The Mill on the Floss
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 22-03-20
A compelling classic
This is a very compelling classic with the mill being only the central theme rather than the theme of the text which is one of melodrama and female conflict as seen through the eyes of Maggie. She’s good despite herself and causes much agony though none of it intentional. She’s by turns weak and strong, undecided and definite and her brother is much the same. it’s a literary nobel but not any the less interesting if you like victorian melodrama which more than a touch of romance. A word avout the performance though. The accents are not consistent and they ought to be. This is a book about middle class society and the accents ought to reflect that despite the education of the youger ones. However, they do not and that spoils the narrative a bit for me at least.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike Tyler
- 08-01-22
Heartbreakingly hopeful
A great tale of resilience and determination featuring Eliot’s most relatable heroine. The hopefulness exists right until the end, keeping the reader guessing. Conflict is exploring in likely pairings: man versus nature; class struggle; pride and humility. The characters, however, are what lifts this novel.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-09-22
Slow burner
Beautifully narrated. Very slow start but the pace picks up half way through the story. I’ve read that the book is semi autobiographical-understanding this helped me to persevere with the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-09-22
Superbly performed!
A great book, performed by a great actress. Thank you Mary Ann Evans and Eileen Atkins.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tone
- 23-05-22
Not the best of Eliot's works Very good narration
Eileen Atkins does a brilliant job and brings the quaint characters of the novel to life, with wonderful colloquial English North country accents.
This is the weaker of the Eliot novels. The story is enthralling but the structure is disjointed and significant incidents are easily lost among the endless digressions.
There is a constant sense that the reader has missed something important.
i had to run through several sections again to make sure i had the correct thread.
I enjoy Eliot's philosophical digressions because they are often the best prose. In middlemarch they make up the beauty of the novel. They often appear at the start of a chapter.
In the Mill however, the endless transgressions seem to be longer than necessary and somewhat tedious and start to encroach into the entirety of the chapter
Almost every action of a character is immediately analysed in great detail and this becomes frustrating as it slows down the plot and important points can be lost.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Julie Bail
- 22-08-12
heartbreakingly good
Eileen Atkins reads superbly. The title of this review says it all, without being a spoiler.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emma Gentry
- 16-05-23
Wonderful
My second book by the author and I loved this. Am so enjoying her writing and characters. I’m really enjoying discovering her work and see myself returning to this book in the future.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NickH
- 16-04-24
Excellent Story
be patient with it - it's well worth the wait. Eliot is a deeply intelligent woman.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. J. Moir
- 14-05-18
Revisiting after sixty gyears
Very enjoyable. Excellent narration and good to refresh my memory.. Great book and story. Five star listen
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sophie Wills
- 11-04-20
Beautiful reading by Eileen Atkins
A wonderfully written tale, read perfectly by Eileen Atkins, highly recommended! I didn't think I'd find anyone as good as Prunella Scales as a narrator, but I did!
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1 person found this helpful