In Person Reading & Discussion Group: Middlemarch, by George Eliot

$35.00 – $115.00

The fees from ABC’s adult programs subsidize our free writing programs for kids, whose work is collected in a yearly anthology, and pay our adult workshop instructors. To remain as accessible as possible, participation in adult reading & discussion groups is based on a sliding scale. If you are looking for guidance as to which rate is right for you, this graphic is a helpful resource.  

Virginia Woolf described Middlemarch as “one of the few English novels written for grownup people.” 150 years later, countless contemporary novelists still cite Eliot’s novel as inspiration for their work. Lauren Groff, in a speech at the Harry Ransom Center, called it the “spirit animal book” of her current project. What makes this 19th century novel about ordinary citizens, leading ordinary, and yet utterly consequential lives, a literary icon? Why does it still capture our imaginations and tell us the truth about ourselves?  We’ll do a close reading of the novel, over five sessions, with a determined focus on the role of sympathy in the narration. In the words of Zadie Smith, “the novel is a riot of subjectivity… Middlemarch is a book about the effects of experience that changes with experience. It gets better as you age.” Whether this is your first time reading Middlemarch, or your tenth, think of this as a lively book club for readers of all levels, and for readers who are also writers.

Tuesdays, 7pm- 8:30pm, April 8th – May 6th at First Light Book Shop at 4300 Speedway Unit 104, Austin, TX 78751.

About the instructor:

Rose Smith’s fiction and nonfiction can be found in The Missouri Review, CRAFT, Five Points, and The Swannanoa Review. She was the winner of The Missouri Review’s 27th Annual Editors’ Prize and was named a finalist for Narrative Magazine’s 2018 Story Contest. As a film producer, her work has aired on PBS and Sundance Channel among others, and has screened at various festivals, including Sundance, SXSW and MoMA Documentary Fortnight. She received her MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. Rose lives in Austin, Texas and is currently at work on a novel.

This Austin Bat Cave adult reading & discussion group is open to all and limited to 15 participants.