Folio Archives 490: Middlemarch by George Eliot 1994
Talk Folio Society Devotees
Join LibraryThing to post.
1wcarter
Middlemarch by George Eliot - 1994
In 1999 The Folio Society published seven of George Eliot’s novels as both a set in two slipcases and as individual single slipcase volumes. These did not sell particularly well, and they were latter given away as a membership benefit.
The set included:-
- Adam Beade
- Daniel Deronda
- Felix Holt
- Middlemarch
- Mill on the Floss
- Romola
- Silas Marner
The Folio Society also published Eliot’s Middlemarch in 1972, 1994 (the edition reviewed here), 2007 and 2018; and The Mill on the Floss was also published in 1986 and 2008. The contents of all the Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss editions are the same although the bindings vary.
Middlemarch has been chosen as an example of these editions to review.
Middlemarch was written in 1871 and is considered to be a masterpiece of Victorian literature. It is set in a provincial English town that is not coping well with the social changes that swept England in the middle of the 19th. Century. Social constraints are broken, flawed marriages become common knowledge, railways bring communities closer together and medicine becomes a science as well as an art. Meanwhile, ordinary life continues.
It is a slow and long read with a huge number of characters, but the plot continues to develop throughout the book and draws the reader in.
Introduced by Kingsley Hart, this 837 page book has 28 integrated monochrome drawings by Robin Jacques. It is quarter bound in mid-blue cloth with pale blue faintly marbled paper covers. The page tops are stained dark blue, and the endpapers are light blue as is the slipcase which measures 23.7x16cm.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
In 1999 The Folio Society published seven of George Eliot’s novels as both a set in two slipcases and as individual single slipcase volumes. These did not sell particularly well, and they were latter given away as a membership benefit.
The set included:-
- Adam Beade
- Daniel Deronda
- Felix Holt
- Middlemarch
- Mill on the Floss
- Romola
- Silas Marner
The Folio Society also published Eliot’s Middlemarch in 1972, 1994 (the edition reviewed here), 2007 and 2018; and The Mill on the Floss was also published in 1986 and 2008. The contents of all the Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss editions are the same although the bindings vary.
Middlemarch has been chosen as an example of these editions to review.
Middlemarch was written in 1871 and is considered to be a masterpiece of Victorian literature. It is set in a provincial English town that is not coping well with the social changes that swept England in the middle of the 19th. Century. Social constraints are broken, flawed marriages become common knowledge, railways bring communities closer together and medicine becomes a science as well as an art. Meanwhile, ordinary life continues.
It is a slow and long read with a huge number of characters, but the plot continues to develop throughout the book and draws the reader in.
Introduced by Kingsley Hart, this 837 page book has 28 integrated monochrome drawings by Robin Jacques. It is quarter bound in mid-blue cloth with pale blue faintly marbled paper covers. The page tops are stained dark blue, and the endpapers are light blue as is the slipcase which measures 23.7x16cm.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2duncjl
Robin Jacques was a fine illustrator, perhaps a little staid. I remember reading a copy of James Joyce's Dubliners at school in the 70s, with drawings by Jacques, and being ribbed by fellow students for reading a "picture" book. Which probably says a lot more about the school than it does about me!
3kdweber
>1 wcarter: “These did not sell particularly well”
That might explain why I was able to pick up the full set in Fine condition for only $50 back in 2013. Well worth it!
That might explain why I was able to pick up the full set in Fine condition for only $50 back in 2013. Well worth it!
4AdPacem
>1 wcarter: "The contents of all the Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss editions are the same although the bindings vary." I believe the most recent Middlemarch edition, at least, has a completely different set of illustrations by Pierre Mornet, as can still be seen here: https://www.foliosociety.com/row/middlemarch?srsltid=AfmBOoqwHCiKId7OIEpwkHfBtYQ...
5Willoyd
I'm not overly surprised the set didn't sell well. I bought it, but never warmed to the bindings in the way I did to other complete FS sets I have, and subsequently sold it, using some of the proceeds to buy an early 20C set instead (which included 'Scenes'). I do also have the 1994 Middlemarch described here (and similar Mill on the Floss), both of which I like very much.
The real turn off were those little 'portraits' - just naff. Not impressed with their style one jot.
The real turn off were those little 'portraits' - just naff. Not impressed with their style one jot.
6wcarter
>4 AdPacem:
Thanks, missed that.
Thanks, missed that.
7RavenSeeker
>1 wcarter: The Mill on the Floss was re-issued in 2008 with a new binding. It didn't have full page illustrations but instead had engravings by Ian Stephens - much better in my view
8cpg
As a reminder, some of the illustrations in the 1999 edition of Middlemarch were pretty rough:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/160409#4336303
https://www.librarything.com/topic/160409#4336303
10Willoyd
>9 boldface:
LOL! I never opened the Silas Mariner volume, so never discovered that! Its size should have told me. But am perfectly content: I still never really liked this edition - unusually for that period of FS - and what I have works perfectly.
LOL! I never opened the Silas Mariner volume, so never discovered that! Its size should have told me. But am perfectly content: I still never really liked this edition - unusually for that period of FS - and what I have works perfectly.
