SPOILER Alert
I am currently reading the section describing Fred Vincy's debt problems. For some reason, I found this section even more painful to read than Dorothea's unwise marriage to Mr Casaubon. When Fred devised the plan to buy a farmer's horse and sell it at the horse fair for a profit, it sounded like a deal that was certain to go wrong. Then I thought, no, this is George Elliot. Her plot lines are realistic and unpredictable. She may wrong foot us. Fred may discover a talent for horse trading and become immensely rich. When the plan went wrong the next day, and Fred had to tell the family friend, Caleb Garth, who had unwisely secured his debt, that he could not pay it, it was awful. Especially when Mr Garth's wife had to use the £92 she had saved to pay for her son's apprenticeship, and even his daughter, Mary, had to hand over £20 she had saved working as a governess. Reminds me a bit of Pip's trouble from Great Expectations.
I am a bit concerned about developments in the Tertius Lydgate - Rosamund Vincy situation. Just marry her and cut out ten chapters from the book.