This volume aims to help students understand George Eliot's novel by providing primary sources that clarify what students may find obscure. These sources are crucial to appreciating the allusions and references that Eliot uses to develop her characters and to enhance her overall presentation of English life. Excerpts and complete texts provide context for both the action of the novel (set in the 1830s) and the period of its composition (1859-1860). The volume also presents some of the best modern criticism of the work to further explore how the novel is currently studied.