A footnote on page 373 of Middlemarch talks about the Reform bill of 1832, a bill sponsored by Lord John Russell. This bill intoruced huge changes to the electoral system in England because many found in unfair. It expanded the right to vote to more men and explicitly barred women from voting. The political changes in England mirror the political instability in Middlemarch.

Eliot, George. Middlemarch, edited Gregory Maertz. Broadview editions 2004.