Rebecca Mead
Author of My Life in Middlemarch
About the Author
Rebecca J. Mead is Assistant Professor of History at Northern Michigan University
Works by Rebecca Mead
Associated Works
Sexual Politics: A Surprising Examination of Society's Most Arbitrary Folly (1970) — Afterword, some editions — 1,136 copies
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen (2009) — Contributor — 367 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1966-09-24
- Gender
- female
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- England, UK
Brooklyn, New York, USA - Education
- Oxford University
New York University - Occupations
- writer
- Relationships
- Prochnik, George (husband)
- Organizations
- The New Yorker
- Awards and honors
- Front Page Award (2004)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 9
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 928
- Popularity
- #27,659
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 52
- ISBNs
- 31
What a delight, then, to pick up My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead. Mead weaves Eliot's biography, and her correspondence along with major themes in Middlemarch and other works. Mead travels to the locations important to Eliot and then draws in a number of the same themes we discussed. This book was made all the richer having done the slow read. How for instance Eliot turned the standard novel on its head by starting the novel with a marriage instead of ending it ala Austen. She addresses Woolf's famous assessment that it is "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people."
I especially enjoyed the glimpses into Eliot's domestic relationship with George Lewes and his children and how the people around her may have served as inspiration for various characters. Mead also touches on Eliot's writing process and obstacles (migraines, toothaches, and family illnesses). But also how Lewes and Eliot had what looks like a modern happy working relationship. Like Eliot, I found a true partner late in life and I certainly could relate to Mead's line, "To find a partner as accepting and generous as Lewes is a great and unexpected gift."
On the whole, I found this book enriched my Middlemarch experience, and as I am now working my way back through all of Eliot's works.… (more)