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.