Middlemarch
Written byGeorge Eliot (novel)
Andrew Davies
Directed byAnthony Page
StarringJuliet Aubrey
Rufus Sewell
Douglas Hodge
Patrick Malahide
Trevyn McDowell
Julian Wadham
Robert Hardy
Peter Jeffrey
Michael Hordern
Theme music composerStanley Myers
ComposersStanley Myers (episode 1)
Christopher Gunning (episode 2–6)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodesoriginally aired as 6, but 7 on the worldwide release
Production
Executive producersMichael Wearing
Rebecca Eaton
ProducerLouis Marks
Production locationsStamford, Lincolnshire, England
Yeovil, Somerset, England
CinematographyBrian Tufano
EditorsJerry Leon
Paul Tothill
Running time75 minutes (x1)
60 minutes (x5)
Production companyWGBH Productions for BBC
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release12 January (1994-01-12) –
16 February 1994 (1994-02-16)

Middlemarch is a 1994 television adaptation of the 1871 novel of the same name by George Eliot. Produced by the BBC on BBC2 in six episodes (seven episodes in the worldwide TV series), it is the second such adaptation for television of the novel. It was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies, and starred Juliet Aubrey, Rufus Sewell, Douglas Hodge and Patrick Malahide.

Plot

Dorothea Brooke attempts to widen her underdeveloped intellect through marriage to the Reverend Edward Casaubon, a man twice her age. The marriage proves unsatisfying and ends with Casaubon's unexpected death. While still married, Dorothea meets Will Ladislaw, an event which leads to further complications. Meanwhile, Dr Lydgate gets married and goes ahead with his ambitious plans for a hospital, but finds himself in difficulty both financially and with local political pressures.

For a full-length summary of the novel see: Middlemarch plot summary.

Cast

Awards

Reactions

In a 28 March 1994 review for The New York Times, Elizabeth Kolbert said the mini-series was a hit in Britain as it "mesmerized millions of viewers here, setting off a mini-craze for Victorian fiction. In its wake there were Middlemarch lectures, Middlemarch comics, even a wave of Middlemarch debates. Authors and columnists argued in the London papers over whether Dorothea would, in fact, live happily ever after, whether Casaubon, if left alone, would have finished his great work and finally whether Will Ladislaw entered his marriage bed a virgin."[1] In an 11 April 1994 review in Time magazine, John Elson stated that the series "was a recent critical and popular success in Britain, leading to lectures and even debates on the novel. As a result of the show, a Penguin paperback of the novel topped best-seller lists for five weeks, and is still doing well. The town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, where exteriors were filmed, is preparing for a summertime influx of tourists."[2]

References

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