'Middlemarch' is generally considered one of the nineteenth century's greatest novels. Written in the 1870's but set in the period of the Great Reform Act of 1832, it illustrates the huge pressures that the society of that time could exert on individuals and the significant, if inevitably limited, success that individuals could achieve in response to such pressures. We will study 'Middlemarch' together as a group. Critical summaries will be provided for each of the novel's eight sections, and these will be used as a starting point for discussion throughout the course.