Middlemarch

Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. Only one man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit?

Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, reforms, betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment. 

Dorothea Brooke is an outstanding heroine, and Middlemarch is filled with characters that are vivid, true, comic, and moving. It is one of the greatest novels in the English language.