Maggie, whose father owns a mill perched on the banks of the River Floss, is not the traditional archetype of feminine beauty or behavior and this causes her family a great deal of anxiety. As she approaches adulthood, her lively disposition brings her into conflict with her family, her environment, and her much-loved brother Tom. Despite their opposite temperaments, Maggie and Tom are united with a strong bond. But this bond suffers when Tom's sense of family honour leads him to forbid her to associate with the one friend who appreciates her intelligence and imagination.
Considered one of George Eliot's finest achievements, The Mill on the Floss is famed for its meticulous, evocative depiction of English rural life and a profoundly convincing analysis of a woman's psychology.