Book 1: Chapter 1 Summary

The setting for the story is laid out in this chapter. The town is St. Ogg's, and it sits on the banks of the river Floss, which flows into the sea, subject to its tides, but also benefiting from access to the ships that bring goods to the region and provide for the marketing of its own produce. A tributary called the Ripple flows into the Floss here. Dorlcote Mill uses the flow of the Ripple and sits at the juncture of the tributary and the Floss. A "trimly-kept, comfortable dwelling house, as old as the elms and chestnuts that shelter it from the northern blast" adjoins the mill and is occupied by the Tullivers, who have owned the mill for five generations and live in the house.

Book 1: Chapter 1 Analysis

We are kept aware of the presence of the river...