Members of the Carleton community will present a 24-hour reading of George Eliot’s “Middlemarch” beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The marathon reading will take place on the North Balcony of the Sayles Hill Campus Center. Community members will take turns reading for about 30 minutes each throughout the day, afternoon, evening, and throughout the night—finishing up the next morning on Oct. Listeners are encouraged to attend, and may come and go as they like or stay for the entire reading.

“Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life” was George Eliot’s (the pen name of Mary Anne Evans) seventh novel, begun in 1869 and ultimately published in 1874. The novel is set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch, thought to be based on Coventry during the period 1830-32. The book has multiple plots with a large cast of characters and interlocking narratives.

Argued by many to be the greatest English novel, Virginia Woolf called it, “The magnificent book, which with all its imperfections, is one of the few English books written for grown-up people” and when asked what she thought of “Middlemarch,” great American poet Emily Dickenson reportedly replied, “What do I think of glory?”

Popular since it was first published, “Middlemarch remains a favorite today and is considered to be one of the greatest books ever written. It has been adapted for multiple television and film projects.

This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of English. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4322. The Sayles Hill Campus Center is located on College Street on the Carleton campus.