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HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Mill on the Floss is set in the 1820s, in the period following the Napoleonic wars. In the wake of Britain’s triumph, many of the inhabitants of St. Ogg’s—a fictional town in Lincolnshire, a region in the northeast of England—feel confident about the British empire and its predominance in the world. At the same time, however, there are some suggestions of social and political unrest. Characters like Mr. Tulliver, Mr. Riley, and Mr. Deane make frequent reference to the “Catholic Question,” which is a reference to the Roman Catholic Relief Act (1829). This piece of legislation finally made it legal for Catholics to openly practice their faith, vote, and sit in Parliament, after centuries of disenfranchisement in England (a Protestant country since the sixteenth century). Although this was regarded as a step forward for religious tolerance, some characters in The Mill on the Floss worry that civil liberties for Catholics will lead to rebellion and dissent, suggesting that anti-Catholic prejudice was still deeply held in provincial areas like St. Ogg’s. In addition, The Mill on the Floss is widely regarded as George Eliot’s most autobiographical novel. Maggie Tulliver is often seen as an avatar for Eliot, who also grew up as a bookish and intelligent girl in a rural community, a farm in Warwickshire, that didn’t support her literary ambitions. Maggie’s volatile relationship with Tom recalls Eliot’s relationship with her brother, Isaac. Isaac disapproved of Eliot living with a man (George Henry Lewes) outside of marriage. He and Eliot were estranged for many years as a result, just as Tom rejects Maggie after her botched elopement with Stephen Guest.