Rebecca Mead (Get this book) In this deeply satisfying hybrid work of literary criticism, biography, and memoir, New Yorker staff writer Mead brings to vivid life the profound engagement that she and all devoted readers experience with a favorite novel over a lifetime. Her love affair with Middlemarch and its author, George Eliot, began when 17-year-old Mead was growing up in southwest England. Here, she wants to "go back to being a reader, " and sets out to rediscover Eliot, visiting the places Eliot lived, studying her letters, and even holding a journal in Eliot's own handwriting. Passionate readers, even those new to Middlemarch, will relish this book.--Publisher's Weekly
