Drawing on George Eliot's own childhood experiences to craft an unforgettable story of first love sibling rivalry & regret The Mill on the Floss is edited with an introduction & notes by AS Byatt author of Possession in Penguin Classics Brought up at Dorlcote Mill Maggie Tulliver worships her brother Tom & is desperate to win the approval of her parents but her passionate wayward nature & her fierce intelligence bring her into constant conflict with her family As she reaches adulthood the clash between their expectations & her desires is painfully played out as she finds herself torn between her relationships with three very different men her proud & stubborn brother; hunchbacked Tom Wakem the son of her family's worst enemy; & the charismatic but dangerous Stephen Guest With its poignant portrayal of sibling relationships The Mill on the Floss is considered George Eliot's most autobiographical novel; it is also one of her most powerful & moving In this edition writer & critic AS Byatt author of Possession provides full explanatory notes & an introduction relating The Mill on the Floss to George Eliot's own life & times Mary Ann Evans (1819-80) began her literary career as a translator & later editor of the Westminster Review In 1857 she published Scenes of Clerical Life the first of eight novels she would publish under the name of ' George Eliot' including The Mill on the Floss Middlemarch & Daniel Deronda If you enjoyed The Mill on the Floss you might like Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure also available in Penguin Classics