THE MILL ON THE FLOSS
By George Eliot
PF Collier & Son Company, 1917, 565 pages
Reviewed by Michael Beach
Originally published in 1860, this multi-generational story of inter-family animosity seems to follow along the lines of Romeo and Juliet, or the Hatefields and McCoys. There are star-crossed lovers in the second generation who come from the opposing families. The setting depicts events between the families in the 1820s and 1830s.
The Dorlcote Mill begins as the Tulliver family legacy. It draws power from the River Floss near the village of St. Ogg’s in Lincolnshire, England. Through bitter legal action it passes into the hands of the Wakems. The Tulliver patriarch eventually dies. Through family and friends the mill comes back to his son, Tom. In the interim Tom’s sister Maggie struggles with her affection of Philip Wakem, son and heir to her father’s rival. Tom eventually learns of her feelings and the two former friendliest of siblings become estranged.
Another potential love enters into Maggie’s life. The problem is the suiter, Stephen Guest, is linked romantically to her cousin Lucy Deane. It is Lucy that causes events to come about to return the mill to the Tullivers. All of these love twists come to a head. All four directly involved, Maggie, Philip, Stephen and Lucy, falter in their relationships and are torn apart after a lifetime of friendship.
Just at the time all of this emotional whirlwind is happening, siblings Tom and Maggie begin to repair their kinship. The storminess of relationships is soon overshadowed by an actual storm which floods the town and washes away the mill. Tom and Maggie come together to save each other in the midst of the storm, but instead drown together and are eventually buried next to each other.
The story ends depicting the regular graveside visits of Philip alone, and Stephen with someone.
I’ve expressed before that I don’t generally purposely read stories with too much of a romantic bent to them. This story is included in a continuing 20 volume set of classic fiction I’m working my way though. Were it not included in the set I doubt it would have crossed my reading path. That’s the benefit of this sort of publishing. It exposes the reader to works that otherwise might be missed.
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