The most ambitious narrative of nineteenth-century realism, Middlemarch tells the story of an entire town in the years leading up to the Reform Bill of 1832, a time when modern methods were starting to challenge old orthodoxies.Set in a fictitious English Midlands town from 1829 to 1832,It follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters.

Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education.

Despite comic elements, Middlemarch uses realism to encompass historical events.