Written in 1860, The Mill on the Floss reflects the values of England's growing middle-class society. Maggie's story, with some incidents and characters drawn directly from author George Eliot's own life, explores the conflicts of love and loyalty and the friction between desire and moral responsibility. An accurate, evocative depiction of English rural life, this compelling narrative features vivid and realistic characterizations, including one of nineteenth-century literature's most appealing heroines.