So far, (and I’m probably behind most readers) I am finding the Gwendolen Harleth section very brilliantly written and quite reminiscent of Jane Austen. The social scenes in Book 1 have all the irony-fuelled qualities we see in Eliot’s great predecessor. The next point is from chapter 4 of Book 1 so it is made fairly early on, but I will put it in as a spoiler.
BTW Am I supposed to save any discussions until later? I gathered that we would be discussing the book in stages as it developed. Hence, my comments are only on the first section. Let me know if I am in error. (?