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The Mill on the Floss
- Narrated by: Fiona Shaw
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
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The Mill on the Floss
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Summary
The Mill on the Floss is one of the great works of English literature. It is perhaps the most autobiographical of all Eliot's novels.
The relationship between its heroine, Maggie Tulliver, and her brother, Tom, closely resembles that of George Eliot and her own brother, Isaac. The subject of sibling affection was clearly a deeply poignant one for George Eliot - she also wrote a series of beautiful and evocative sonnets entitled 'Brother and Sister'.
Maggie's feelings as she nurses her dying father also echo those described by George Eliot in a letter when she was in the same situation. And there is something in the essential character and personality of Maggie that reminds us of her creator, of what we know of her from the life she led and the decisions she made.
Like its predecessors, Scenes of Clerical Life and Adam Bede, it is a domestic tale. And, like its predecessors, the book draws closely on people and places in Eliot's native Warwickshire. Although she did travel to Lincolnshire, where the story is set, to identify appropriate rivers for the apocalyptic flood, Dorlcote Mill closely resembles Arbury Mill, where the author played as a child.
It is essentially a story of family loss, tragedy and the sheer cruelty of fate. Like many of George Eliot's heroines, Maggie Tulliver's intelligence and emotional capacity are her undoing; they create in her an appetite for greater things than the social restrictions of the day tended to offer women - a theme which characterises much of George Eliot's work.
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What listeners say about The Mill on the Floss
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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
- Hugh M. Clarke
- 14-10-18
Great Literature
I enjoyed this book immensely. It has a strong narrative and shows profound psychological understanding. The main characters are complex. The minor characters can be identified in the community. There is a range of human feeling: jealousy, pride, stubbornness, snobbery, conceit and longing. There is reference to 'unconscious' motivation, which demonstrates that, contrary to the claims made by his followers, this concept was not invented by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). The novel was written in 1860.
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14 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
- Amazon Customer
- 20-12-19
Masterclass in narration
Fiona Shaw brings this wonderful novel to life. A
masterpiece. Tried reading it many years ago, but never finished it. Much more accessible listening.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mervyn T.
- 14-08-20
Disappointing!!
I thought the book was brilliantly read by Fiona Shaw with her amazing variety of character voices!! I would have expected nothing less as she is a brilliant actress. The book itself however, I found tedious after a while and the story weak. I had been so looking forward to hearing it as I’ve never read it but sadly it didn’t hold my interest but nonetheless I was determined to finish it!! Well done Fiona!!
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9 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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- pamelula
- 19-08-20
fantastic
Fiona Shaw reads this perfectly. She is lovely to listen to, very clear and brings the story to life.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 17-08-21
George Elliot is magnificent.
it is almost embarrassing to come to Eliot so late in life where others have known her genius since youth. Better late than never. The Mill on the Floss tells of a woman whose life implodes, despite her deep morality, her kindness, and her will to do good. The characterisation, the acute observation of human impulse, and the sly, sharp humour carry this powerful tale high over any impatience a modern reader might feel in the face of the frustrating, historical restrictions on personal (especially female) autonomy . Fiona Shaw is masterful in narration.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lucy fenwick
- 27-09-19
My all time favourite book
Love this book, but could t get on with Fiona Shaw’s narration, and ended up exchanging it for another narrator.
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4 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Pamela
- 17-02-21
Fiona Shaw is an excellent narrator.
Not a book to read if you are low in spirits. And I have to say I found the sentimentality at the end rather cloying. We see the world mainly through Maggie Tulliver and it is in adulthood; we see the collision between expectations and desires. And her stubborn father, a man unwise in his quarrels and choices. Some wonderful descriptive writing by Eliot.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Claire
- 17-10-18
About being good!
Sad ending, and story in general. I couldn't get into this book initially but very glad I kept going.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 30-07-21
Fiona Shaw brilliant
Fiona Shaw doesn’t just read the book, she completely inhabits the characters and turns it into a one-woman dramatisation: at several points it felt like different actors were reading the various roles - male, female, children - instead of just her. Superb.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kia
- 23-11-20
Great reading
One of the books I’m studying at uni for one of my modules. I’m a very very slow reader so this was a huge help! Highly recommend
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Starr
- 21-04-16
Fiona Shaw makes George Eliot endurable
First of all let me say, I do not like George Eliot. This was a book club book, so I had to "read" it. I would never have made it through the actual 800+ page book, but Fiona Shaw read it so beautifully, I managed to finish it in time for the meeting. And I must say, this story had more humor than Middlemarch or Silas Marner. (But not up to Jane Austen's standards.) But those stories had a "happy ending" and this one did not. I understand that George Eliot was making a statement about the status of women in Victorian England--I get it, I get it--and she definitely makes you feel the injustice of that system, but does she have to take 800+ pages to do it?
However, if you MUST read George Eliot, you cannot do better than have Fiona Shaw read it to you. She was absolutely perfect. Now I need to listen to her read something I might actually like, such as Emma or Dr. Johnson's London.
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9 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
- Baystar136
- 29-07-16
Best reader I have ever heard. Been listening for years.
This is a major work of literature, and a good introduction to the more challenging Middlemarch.
It's a fascinating story, and a classic. I recommend this book, and especially this amazing performance, to literature buffs.
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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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- BKG
- 21-02-20
Excellent!
Fiona Shaw was an excellent narrator.
The Millon the Floss is an amazing book I am a little too emotional to talk about it right now
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2 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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-03-19
a writer well ahead of her time.
All of George Eliots work should be required reading. Her character work is impeccable and only grows stronger with each of her novels. Her use of forshowding throughout TMOTF is harrowing and unrelenting, yet poetic and a poignant reminder of how insignificant human pettiness ultimately can be. The performance started off a bit off putting to me while the characters were young, but grew quite enjoyable as the story progressed and the characters aged. Who knew Petunia Dursley was so talented!
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Doctor Bob
- 23-10-22
Feminine romance
This marvelously written romantic tale from a feminine viewpoint will likely appeal to you if you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- amy cullen
- 02-09-22
Wonderful
This is the third consecutive novel by George Eliot I have listened to on Audible. What a wonderful writer the phrasing, dialogue, character development- all are so enriching. The narrator was Fiona Shaw.. her performance could not have been any better- a wonderful treat
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anna Dagmar
- 11-08-22
Captivating and vivid!
Beautiful descriptions of the landscape and deep character reflections. Many twists and turns and definitely a surprise ending! I think there's a lot of metaphor to be found in the Mill itself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stacey Morrison
- 30-05-21
Fiona Shaw is amazing!
Brilliant reading of a grear classic Victorian novel. No one could have read Elliot better.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-04-21
Superb narration
Fiona Shaw has done a stellar job in this reading. Really brought the book to life.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous
- 09-01-20
Pretty Good
Concerning this great book only as a recorded work, I'd get tired too if I had to read the whole thing out loud, but often this is how Ms. Shaw comes across. As well, I had to lower the sgpeed to compensate for her British English at times spoken too quickly or less than crisply in terms of enunciation. Then when she did the character voices -- well, there are just whole passages I gave up trying to make heads or tales of. Overall though I think Fiona Shaw is competent. At least she does not seem as affectatious as a few other British narrators I have since encountered, some being almost completely "inaudible" oh my! And what's this that just because it's British English literature, all the narrators have to be British English? Why don't you get your favorite Michelle Obama to do it -- nothing seems to get her all tuckered out -- or are you all racist-racist or something?
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