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George Eliot (1819–1880)

Author of Middlemarch

476+ Works 54,058 Members 860 Reviews 315 Favorited
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About the Author

George Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans on a Warwickshire farm in England, where she spent almost all of her early life. She received a modest local education and was particularly influenced by one of her teachers, an extremely religious woman whom the novelist would later use as a model for various show more characters. Eliot read extensively, and was particularly drawn to the romantic poets and German literature. In 1849, after the death of her father, she went to London and became assistant editor of the Westminster Review, a radical magazine. She soon began publishing sketches of country life in London magazines. At about his time Eliot began her lifelong relationship with George Henry Lewes. A married man, Lewes could not marry Eliot, but they lived together until Lewes's death. Eliot's sketches were well received, and soon after she followed with her first novel, Adam Bede (1859). She took the pen name "George Eliot" because she believed the public would take a male author more seriously. Like all of Eliot's best work, The Mill on the Floss (1860), is based in large part on her own life and her relationship with her brother. In it she begins to explore male-female relations and the way people's personalities determine their relationships with others. She returns to this theme in Silas Mariner (1861), in which she examines the changes brought about in life and personality of a miser through the love of a little girl. In 1863, Eliot published Romola. Set against the political intrigue of Florence, Italy, of the 1490's, the book chronicles the spiritual journey of a passionate young woman. Eliot's greatest achievement is almost certainly Middlemarch (1871). Here she paints her most detailed picture of English country life, and explores most deeply the frustrations of an intelligent woman with no outlet for her aspirations. This novel is now regarded as one of the major works of the Victorian era and one of the greatest works of fiction in English. Eliot's last work was Daniel Deronda. In that work, Daniel, the adopted son of an aristocratic Englishman, gradually becomes interested in Jewish culture and then discovers his own Jewish heritage. He eventually goes to live in Palestine. Because of the way in which she explored character and extended the range of subject matter to include simple country life, Eliot is now considered to be a major figure in the development of the novel. She is buried in Highgate Cemetery, North London, England, next to her common-law husband, George Henry Lewes. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)

Works by George Eliot

Middlemarch (1871) 17,620 copies
Silas Marner (1861) 11,270 copies
The Mill on the Floss (1860) 8,657 copies
Adam Bede (1859) 4,178 copies
Daniel Deronda (1876) 3,723 copies
Romola (1862) 1,444 copies
Felix Holt, the Radical (1866) 1,038 copies
Scenes of Clerical Life (1858) 867 copies
Silas Marner and Two Short Stories (1973) — Author — 296 copies
Selected Essays, Poems and Other Writings (1990) — Translator — 144 copies
Brother Jacob (1878) 142 copies
Middlemarch (1/2) (1893) 114 copies
Middlemarch (2/2) (1872) 73 copies
Collected poems (1989) 65 copies
100 Eternal Masterpieces of Literature - volume 1 (2017) — Contributor — 56 copies
Amos Barton (1857) 49 copies
Mr Gilfil's Love Story (1857) 31 copies
Janet's Repentance (2007) 27 copies
The Spanish Gypsy (2008) 24 copies
Romola / Theophrastus Such (1889) — Author — 21 copies
Romola (1/2) (1892) — Author — 20 copies
Adam Bede, Volume 2 of 2 (1999) 19 copies
Adam Bede, Volume 1 of 2 (1900) 17 copies
How Lisa Loved the King (2010) 17 copies
Romola (2/2) (1887) — Author — 16 copies
The Mill on the Floss (1/2) (1900) — Author — 15 copies
The Mill on the Floss (2/2) (1892) — Author — 14 copies
Middlemarch (3/3) (2009) — Author — 13 copies
The Works of George Eliot (2010) 13 copies
Scenes of Clerical Life (1/2) (2015) — Author — 12 copies
The George Eliot Letters (1954) 10 copies
Miscellaneous Essays (1901) 9 copies
Felix Holt / Theophrastus Such (1885) — Author — 9 copies
Works of George Eliot (1900) 9 copies
The Poems of George Eliot (1884) 9 copies
Romola / Silas Marner — Author — 9 copies
Romola (1/3) 9 copies
Tom and Maggie Tulliver (1909) 8 copies
Romola (3/3) 8 copies
Romola (2/3) 8 copies
Essays of George Eliot (1963) 8 copies
Scenes of Clerical Life (2/2) — Author — 8 copies
Middlemarch (1/3) (2004) — Author — 7 copies
Adam Bede / The Mill on the Floss / Romola (1893) — Author — 7 copies
Middlemarch (2/3) (2009) — Author — 7 copies
Silas Marner / Middlemarch (1964) — Author — 6 copies
Silas Marner (2/2) (2003) 5 copies
Silas Marner / Brother Jacob (1970) — Author — 5 copies
Eliot's works 5 copies
Silas Marner (1/2) (2003) 4 copies
Edward Neville (1995) 4 copies
The Mill on the Floss / Romola — Author — 3 copies
Felix Holt; Poems (1900) 3 copies
El molino 3 copies
Middlemarch (Advanced) (1981) 3 copies
George Eliot's Works (1887) 3 copies
The Best of George Eliot (2016) 2 copies
Works 2 copies
Two Lovers (1909) 2 copies
Theophrastus Such / The Spanish Gypsy — Author — 2 copies
MIDDLEMARCH (1987) 1 copy
Silas Marner (2023) 1 copy
Six Pack 1 copy
Pendennis Siles Marner (1910) 1 copy
Silas Marner 1 copy
Armgart 1 copy
Early essays (1977) 1 copy
Romola - Vols 1 & 2 (1900) 1 copy
Zu Gast in Weimar (2019) 1 copy
Romola , Vol 1 (1900) 1 copy
The Life of Jesus (2010) 1 copy
Biographie 1 copy
Famous Women 1 copy
Golden Grain 1 copy

Associated Works

Little Women (1868) — some editions — 26,256 copies
Ethics (1677) — Translator, some editions — 2,913 copies
One Hundred and One Famous Poems (1916) — Contributor, some editions — 1,932 copies
The Essence of Christianity (1841) — Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions — 884 copies
The Treasure Chest (1932) — Contributor — 258 copies
Atheism: A Reader (2000) — Contributor — 181 copies
The Portable Victorian Reader (1972) — Contributor — 176 copies
Aurora Leigh [Norton Critical Edition] (1996) — Contributor — 174 copies
Erotica: Women's Writing from Sappho to Margaret Atwood (1990) — Contributor — 168 copies
A Literary Christmas: An Anthology (2013) — Contributor — 134 copies
The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (1898) — Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions — 117 copies
The Penguin Book of Women's Humour (1996) — Contributor — 117 copies
The Standard Book of British and American Verse (1932) — Contributor — 114 copies
The Lifted Veil: Women's 19th Century Stories (2005) — Contributor — 113 copies
Great English Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (2005) — Contributor — 39 copies
Silas Marner (Radio Theatre) (2001) — Original novel — 38 copies
Writing Politics: An Anthology (2020) — Contributor — 35 copies
Trial and Error: An Oxford Anthology of Legal Stories (1998) — Contributor — 24 copies
Nineteenth-Century Women Poets: An Oxford Anthology (1996) — Contributor — 22 copies
Silas Marner [1985 film] (2007) — Original novel — 20 copies
Women on Nature (2021) — Contributor — 20 copies
Great English Short Stories (1930) — Contributor — 20 copies
Ghosts and Marvels (1924) — Contributor — 17 copies
Silas Marner | The Pearl (1959) 14 copies
Wings Over the World (1942) — Contributor — 13 copies
An Adult's Garden of Bloomers (1966) — Contributor — 7 copies
Great Love Scenes from Famous Novels (1943) — Contributor — 5 copies
The Word Lives On: A Treasury of Spiritual Fiction (1951) — Contributor — 4 copies
Famous Stories of Five Centuries (1934) — Contributor — 4 copies
30 Eternal Masterpieces of Humorous Stories (2017) — Contributor — 4 copies
A Reader for Writers — Contributor — 2 copies
A Book of Narratives (1917) — Contributor — 2 copies
Maestros Ingleses, Tomo III (1962) — Contributor — 2 copies
Klassisia kauhukertomuksia (2021) — Contributor — 2 copies
Adam Bede: A Play — Author — 1 copy

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Eliot, George
Legal name
Evans, Mary Ann
Other names
Evans, Marian
Cross, Mary Anne
Birthdate
1819-11-22
Date of death
1880-12-22
Burial location
Highgate Cemetery, London, England, UK
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
England, UK
Birthplace
Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, UK
Place of death
London, England, UK
Cause of death
throat infection
Places of residence
Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, UK
London, England, UK
Education
Mrs. Wallington's School (Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, UK)
Occupations
novelist
editor
Relationships
Lewes, George Henry (husband)
Cross, J. W. (husband)
Hennell, Sara (friend)
Spencer, Herbert (friend)
Evans, Gwyn (great-nephew)
Short biography
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of which are set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight.

Although female authors were published under their own names during her lifetime, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women's writing being limited to lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her fiction judged separately from her already extensive and widely known work as an editor and critic. Another factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny, thus avoiding the scandal that would have arisen because of her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes.

Middlemarch has been described by the novelists Martin Amis[3] and Julian Barnes as the greatest novel in the English language. Published under the name J. T. Colgan.

Members

Discussions

George Eliot and George Henry Lewes in Legacy Libraries (March 2022)
March 2021: George Eliot in Monthly Author Reads (February 2022)
Group Read: Middlemarch, Second Thread in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (October 2018)
Middlemarch: The Chatty Bits (Spoilers Go Here) in The Green Dragon (March 2015)
Group Read, September 2014: The Mill on the Floss in 1001 Books to read before you die (September 2014)
Middlemarch Group Read 2014 in 75 Books Challenge for 2014 (August 2014)
Middlemarch group read in 2014 Category Challenge (April 2014)
Daniel Deronda in Geeks who love the Classics (April 2013)
Group Read: Middlemarch, Third Thread in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (February 2011)
Group Read: Middlemarch in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (November 2010)
***Group Read: Middlemarch Books 7-8 in 1001 Books to read before you die (September 2010)
***Group Read: Middlemarch Books 5-6 in 1001 Books to read before you die (August 2010)
***Group Read: Middlemarch Books 3-4 in 1001 Books to read before you die (August 2010)
***Group Read: Middlemarch Prelude & Books 1-2 in 1001 Books to read before you die (August 2010)
Middlemarch in Victoriana (December 2009)
Middlemarch: Book I in Group Reads - Literature (May 2008)
Middlemarch (Spoilers Here) in Connecticut Nutmeggers (March 2008)
Middlemarch (SPOILER FREE) in Connecticut Nutmeggers (August 2007)

Reviews

Excellent prose in a style that I thoroughly enjoyed.
 
Flagged
kruz01 | 152 other reviews | Feb 26, 2024 |
We all have to exert ourselves a little to keep sane. (Mrs Cadwallader to Dorothea p.391)


My particular 1956 edition started falling apart just as I began to read it. By page 40 there were pages everywhere so I switched to an audio book masterfully (if I can use such a gendered word) read by Juliet Stevenson. Here I should quote George Eliot (Anna Evans),

I am not sure that the greatest man of his age, if ever that solitary superlative existed...


This wry moment of confidence between writer and reader characterizes what I love about Eliot's wonderful writing. First, the understated distance between the author and her characters. Second, the precision of her sentences. Third, the gentle and sympathetic humour which leads to gleeful chuckling on my side of the page.

Before I opened Middlemarch I was concerned that I'd be overwhelmed by another 'bonnet novel' of dubious interest, but almost immediately I found that I was in a different space altogether. Something timeless about the insights into character and situation.

This is a wonderful book in which the story is merely incidental to the beautifully articulated and extraordinary perceptions of the author. I chuckled my way through this narrative with a mixture of joy and awe

Unwonted circumstances may make us all rather unlike ourselves: there are circumstances under which the most majestic person is obliged to sneeze, and our emotions are liable to be acted on in the same incongruous manner. (p.459)



"It would have been better if I had called him out and shot him a year ago," said Sir James, not from bloody mindedness. but because he needed something strong to say.
"Really, James, that would have been very disagreeable," said Celia. (p.597)

… (more)
 
Flagged
simonpockley | 329 other reviews | Feb 25, 2024 |
 
Flagged
LDMichaelis | 329 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |
It was a little bit of a challenge to tackle this book. I put it off reading for some time, but I am so glad that I finally picked it up and read it. I would highly advise listening to the audiobook version by naxos with Julius Stevenson as the reader. I have found in my personal reading, when working my way through a 19th century English literature book, that the audio version helps me get into the mindset and language of that time period. Juliet Stevenson is probably one of the finest readers I have come across. She especially does an excellent job with all the different character voices.
As for the book itself. George Elliott really shines with her observations of human nature, psychology, and exploring those avenues through her characters and their relationships. The plot slowly works its way along a path that never really bores you. By the end of the book you will have grown to care so much about the interactions with each character that you will be turning pages, and finding new time in your life to read further. 900 pages is daunting, but by the end of the book you could keep on reading a few more hundred pages. If you like character development, this book is for you. Put it on your TBR, and find the time sometime in the future where you can explore the debts of George Elliott's world in Middlemarch.
… (more)
 
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wvlibrarydude | 329 other reviews | Jan 14, 2024 |

Lists

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1870s (1)
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Awards

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Honore de Balzac Contributor
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Henri Barbusse Contributor
Emily Brontë Contributor
Anne Brontë Contributor
Honoré de Balzac Contributor
Washington Irving Contributor
Gaston Leroux Contributor
Herman Melville Contributor
Stendhal Contributor
H. P. Lovecraft Contributor
Edgar Allan Poe Contributor
E. M. Forster Contributor
D. H. Lawrence Contributor
Louisa May Alcott Contributor
Dante Alighieri Contributor
Lewis Carroll Contributor
Leo Tolstoy Contributor
Joseph Conrad Contributor
Henry James Contributor
Homer Contributor
Aldous Huxley Contributor
Mark Twain Contributor
Gustave Flaubert Contributor
Alexandre Dumas Contributor
Jonathan Swift Contributor
Victor Hugo Contributor
Theodore Dreiser Contributor
Bram Stoker Contributor
Marcel Proust Contributor
Jack London Contributor
Henry Fielding Contributor
Arthur Conan Doyle Contributor
Andy Hopkins Adapted by
Jocelyn Potter Adapted by
Sue Saunders Adapter
R.T. Jones Introduction
Ludwig Feuerbach Contributor
Frederic Harrison Contributor
Tess O'Toole Introduction
J.W. Cross Editor
Maud Jackson Adapted by
Justin Rainey Activities by
Robert Hill Ativities by
Rosemary Ashton Introduction, Editor
Nadia May Narrator
Graham Handley Editor, Introduction
Beryl Gray Editor, Afterword
Robert Mathias Cover designer
Walter Ernest Allen Afterword, Introduction
George Levine Introduction
Robin Jacques Illustrator
Megan McDaniel Introduction, Illustrator
R. M. Hewitt Introduction
Terence Cave Editor, Introduction
Mason Cooley Introduction
Rick Ellis Cover Design
Gabriel Woolf Narrator
Dr Keith Carabine Series Editor
Kingsley Hart Introduction
Jessica Hische Illustrator
Michel Faber Introduction
W. L. Taylor Illustrator
Alex Struik Cover Design
Alain Jumeau Translator
Kate Reading Narrator
Håkan Tollet Translator
Wanda Fraiken Neff Introduction
ג. אריוך Translator
Monica Elias Illustrator
Arthur A. Dixon Illustrator
Nancy Henry Preface
Mario Manzari Translator
Irmgard Nickel Translator
Pierre Mornet Illustrator
Margret Stevens Translator
Max Wildi Nachwort
Ilse Leisi Translator
Sylvère Monod Translator
Elsie Tollet Translator
Thomas Creswick Cover artist
Juliet Aubrey Narrator
Jordi Arbonès Translator
Adam & Eve Illustrator
Melanie Walz Herausgeber
Elinor S. Shaffer Introduction
Ronald Pickup Narrator
Frank Kermode Afterword
Arie Storm Afterword
Jennifer Egan Introduction
Doreen Roberts Introduction
Simon Brett Illustrator
Francine Prose Introduction
David Russell Introduction
Penelope Fitzgerald Introduction
Rainer Zerbst Translator
Aune Tuomikoski Translator
Carole Boyd Narrator
Rebecca Mead Foreword
Margaret Drabble Introduction
Kristian Wachinger Herausgeber
Felicia Bonaparte Introduction
Quentin Anderson Introduction
Gerald Bullett Introduction
John Mullan Introduction
Jerome Beaty Afterword
Ned Halley Afterword
Paul Montazzoli Introduction
Robert Herrick Introduction
Q. D. Leavis Introduction
Anna Bentinck Narrator
Clarence Rowe Illustrator
David G. Pitt Introduction
Andrew Sachs Narrator
F.E. Bevan Editor
Dinah Birch Introduction
Bel Mooney Introduction
Wray Manning Illustrator
J Bernard Davis Illustrator
John Constable Cover artist
David Daiches Introduction
Margot Livesey Introduction
Ian Stephens Illustrator
Jane Smiley Afterword
Alyson Macneill Illustrator
Louis Salomon Introduction
Jozef Israëls Illustrator
Curtis Dahl Foreword
W. D. Howe Editor
James Hill Cover artist
Flo Gibson Narrator
Christian Bokelman Cover artist
Carole Jones Introduction
Harry Brockway Illustrator
Frederic Leighton Cover artist
Dorothea Barrett Introduction
Henry King Illustrator (photos from film version)
Kathryn Hughes Introduction
Dinny Thorold Introduction
John Ritchie Cover artist
Charles Reid Illustrator
Hugh Thomson Illustrator
Grace Rhys Introduction
Annie Matheson Introduction
Josie Billington Contributor
A.H. Buckland Illustrator
H. R. Millar Illustrator
Jennifer Gribble Introduction
Bruce Pirie Narrator
Samuel Laurence Cover artist
Matthew Sweet Foreword
Esther Wood Contributor
Charles Lee Lewes Introduction
Rachel Lay Illustrator

Statistics

Works
476
Also by
56
Members
54,058
Popularity
#279
Rating
4.0
Reviews
860
ISBNs
2,445
Languages
27
Favorited
315

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