The Mill on the Floss (Version 2)
Gelesen von Tom Denholm
George Eliot
(4,765 Sterne; 49 Bewertungen)
The Mill on the Floss is George Eliot’s second novel, and was published in 1860, only a year after her first, Adam Bede. It centres on the lives of brother and sister Tom and Maggie Tulliver growing up on the river Floss near the town of St. Oggs (a fictionalised version of Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire, England) in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, with both as young adults eventually meeting a tragic end by the Mill which the family holds so dear. In large measure, their lives are dominated by their father, a successful miller brought down by his inability to resist settling arguments in a court of law. Character differences between Tom and Maggie - he dour and rigid of thought, she lively and impulsive - seem to matter little in childhood, but eventually strain their relationship beyond breaking point. It is Maggie, however, who is the dominant character of the book, arguably one of the great characters of 19th century literature. Each of her relationships is vital to the narrative: with her parents, with Tom above all, but on a romantic level with Philip Wakem, the sensitive hunchbacked son of her father’s (and Tom’s) bitterest enemy, and with charming and urbane Stephen Guest, fiance of Maggie’s cousin Lucy Deane. Maggie’s life is changed utterly by an impulsive elopement which she turns back from, but too late to stop the inevitable abuse and contempt. This is a semi-autobiographical reflection of the vilification which George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) herself had to endure while openly living with a married man, a time when her brother was willing to communicate with her only through lawyers. Eliot writes of character and relationships with an insight and sharp detail that few authors have ever equaled. It’s a long book, but you will appreciate it for its depth. - Summary by Tom Denholm (25 hr 39 min)
Chapters
Chapter II. Mr Tulliver, of Dorlcote Mill, Declares His Resolution about Tom
17:01
Read by Tom Denholm
Chapter VI. Tending to Refute the Popular Prejudice against the Present of a Po…
20:50
Read by Tom Denholm
BOOK FOURTH. THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION. Chapter I. A Variation of Protestantism…
15:29
Read by Tom Denholm
Bewertungen
Johnny
(5 Sterne)
If, like me, you’ve struggled reading Eliot’s classic, then this recording is a great version which would be completely at home on a paid for platform. Tom Denham’s fine reading really brings the story alive; I literally couldn’t stop listening. He narrates in a soft North East accent (Durham/Teesside maybe), which, as an ancient English dialect, is perfect for the 19th Century rural Lincolnshire characters. Tom’s development from an impetuous boy to a brooding adult and successful entrepreneur, Maggie’s trials and tribulations growing from a wildling girl to an intensely independent and intelligent, but flawed young woman are brought dramatically to life. The shrewish, sanctimonious Aunts Glegg, Pullet and Deane are brilliantly satired as is Mr Tulliver Snr with all his bluster, but also depicted with sensitivity and pathos as called for by the text. A really excellent all round recording and one of the best on LibriVox.
Beautifully read
William Gardiner
(5 Sterne)
Tom Denholm's reading of this book is a pleasure. Sometimes the earlier sections are slow-moving, but there is quite a bit of hidden tongue-in-cheek humour hiding in it, as well as some wrily-observed comments on the intellectual superiority of men. The irony that this is a female author, covering a wide range of subjects, is not lost!
Beautiful reading
Tim Pateman
(5 Sterne)
A wonderful reading, with a steady pace that weaves through Eliot's elaborate sentences very pleasingly. Dignified and heartfelt, this really seems to do the story justice.
A glimpse of times past
(5 Sterne)
A brilliant reading of a wonderful book
Amazing
shane miller
(5 Sterne)
A wonderful and moving tale.
Excellent reading
שמעון עין גל
(4 Sterne)
A great book indeed, though for me it was difficult to get through because of the overwhelmingly depressed character of Maggie. Yes it rings so true, because lives are so often torn down by internal conflicts like her's, but none the less she is impossible to bear. A very disturbing book about the implacability of Fate, lit up by scenes of comedy with her aunt's.
D Thieme
(5 Sterne)
Omniscient narration gives splendid insight to all characters. Tragedy and sorrow has complete satisfaction in personification, and other literary models, especially metaphor, were exhausted to the uttermost. Eliot”s genius stirs this readers’s sincere approbation.
Most enjoyable
Ken Havey
(5 Sterne)
Very well read. Full of character.