Caterina Sarti is the orphaned daughter of an Italian music master who has been brought up by the aristocratic Cheverel family. In love with the Cheverel heir, Anthony Wybrow, her hopes of marrying him are frustrated by the discovery that not only has Anthony merely been playing with her affections, but his family will never accept her as their equal. Mr. Gilfil, the faithful vicar, rescues Caterina from her despair, but not before she has been irrevocably damaged by her unkind treatment. A masterly evocation of tragic love, Mr. Gilfil's Love Story also reflects George Eliot's deep ambivalence towards the upper classes."Elegant and expressive#133;this is the most original work of fiction George Eliot ever wrote." (David Lodge). Born Mary Ann Evans, Victorian novelist George Eliot (1819#150;1880) is the author of a number of remarkable works, including the masterpiece Middlemarch.