ABSTRACT
George Eliot's Middlemarch appeared in a competitive market among rival publications where it vied for public attention. The works that competed with Middlemarch most closely supplied the same goods by directly excerpting Middlemarch forms. Other publications claimed to satisfy similar goods through alternative genres, forms and formats. These rival products can be useful in indicating the kinds of benefits for which Middlemarch was valued. In time for the Christmas market of 1878, Alexander Main and Blackwood's progressed to publishing the flamboyant The George Eliot Birthday Book, a diary version of the Wise, Witty and Tender Sayings. On the eve of publication, Eliot complained to Langford about the cover, but it was too late. Relations with Main cooled. The value of Eliot's words retained their value when presented sensibly, but the lavishness of the Birthday Book untied the connection between the values of treasured knowledge and simple frugality.
