Middlemarch - George Eliot

The intertwined lives of the residents of a small English town reveal the struggles between idealism, ambition, and social convention. Dorothea Brooke’s yearning for purpose and reform contrasts with the limitations placed on women and intellect in her time. Meanwhile, Dr. Lydgate’s dreams of medical progress falter under personal weakness and societal pressures. The novel offers a rich, compassionate study of human motives, moral growth, and the complexities of ordinary life.