However, (and I'm sorry to post another slightly negative review), it was probably not the best George Eliot to start with. The introduction acknowledges that this work is atypical for Eliot - it was written in 1859, but not published until 1878, and it is certainly not as popular as her other "classic" novels.
It takes the unusual theme of ESP and clairvoyancy; Latimer, the principle character discovers one night that he has powers in this area, and has a vision of a "pale, fatal eyed woman". He later meets her and discovers that she is the fiancee of his brother. He gets visions filled with warnings but is unwilling to take action on them. The most interesting concept for me in the book was the way that Eliot explains how it is human nature to end up getting involved in situations that one knows one should be avoided; this takes on an even weightier message given the clairvoyancy involved for Latimer.
There is another George Eliot VMC, Brother Jacob.
Two Virago covers, both featuring the same image, presumably meant to imply Bertha? My copy is the later one.
