It's not exactly my theme and setting, I prefer the wider scope of Middlemarch more, and I always have a bit of a problem with love-stories, even more so 19th century Victorian ones. But fuck, George Elliot is extremely good. I couldn't help myself but to exclaim how brilliant she is several times while reading, and obviously, I usually don't really talk or laugh while reading (perhaps some friends and innocent bystanders will end up reading George Elliot as well now..). I rarely have this with fiction, but I wanted to have a pen to underline text so many times (and most of the time I didn't have one with me..) At the same time though, it wasn't a page-turner (Middlemarch was for me, the last third of the book) and there was a point quite close to the end where I considered to just quit and leave it. 
 (view spoiler)[I don't particularly enjoy reading cringy painfulness where you already know how it will go all wrong in the next chapters. But the ending wasn't that bad, Society was judgemental (very much victim-blaming yes - blame the poor girl, fault could impossibly be with the upper-class gentleman), but the relevant individuals weren't (except for Maggie's simple-minded brother). I was quite happy with Lucy's forgivefullness as I feared an over-the-top depressing Thomas Hardy like ending. And yea, the ending, it's a bit of a lame unrealistic cop-out. But thinking about it, it was still better than a unfitting happy-ending with either Philip or Stephen, or a Thomas Hardy ending involving lots of suicides. (hide spoiler)] 
 I have never read an author that understands humans so well, and one that is full of love and empathy towards the less imaginative and emphatic minds among us. The descriptions of provincial live, tradition, children (never ever seen children so well and emphatically described before, Maggie impulsively cutting her own hair not realizing her mistake until she's done, brilliant!), family life (Oh, the Dodsons and their honour!). The injustice of being faulted despite having the purest intentions, and then still being emphatic and understanding towards those doing the faulting. I'm not very eloquent here, I can impossibly find words the way George Elliot does. George Elliot is so fucking good. Holy shit. Is there anything like George Elliot in a more modern setting? I can't really think of anything like it.