<DIV>One of George Eliot's finest achievements, <I>The Mill on the Floss</I> is famed for its unsurpassed depiction of English rural life and for its striking, superbly drawn heroine, Maggie Tulliver. The novel's evocation of childhood in the English countryside-at once unsentimental, yet rich with delight-stands as an enduring triumph, but equally memorable are its portrayal of a narrow tradition-bound society and its dramatic unfolding of tragic human destiny.<BR><BR></DIV>