This Norton Critical Edition includes: * The 1874 corrected edition of the text, with small textual variations from Eliot's manuscript. * Introductory materials and explanatory footnotes by Ronjaunee Chatterjee. * Twenty-three background selections from Eliot's correspondence, journals, and other writings. * Seventeen critical responses, including five contemporary reactions and twelve critical analyses of the novel's most important themes. * A chronology of Eliot's life and a selected bibliography.