George Eliot
George Eliot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
George Eliot is the pseudonym created in 1857 by the aspiring writer Marian Evans. In a letter to her publisher William Blackwood, Evans suggested that the name George Eliot should be assigned to her work in place of her own. The male name was created partly to conceal the gender of the author, and partly to disguise her irregular social position, living as an unmarried woman with a married man. Eliot assured Blackwood - who was at that time unaware of her true identity - that the pen name was necessary to employ 'as a tub to throw to the whale in case of curious enquiries'.
The name George Eliot was used to publish all of her fictional work and ensured that Eliot's novels were taken seriously. Unlike Charlotte Brontë's pen name Currer Bell, which has fallen into disuse, the name George Eliot is still employed today to identify one of the most influential novelists of the Victorian era.
Born Mary Anne Evans on 22nd November 1819 to the second wife of Robert Evans, estate manager for the Newdigate family of Arbury Hall in Warwickshire, Mary Anne spent much of her young life in this rural part of England, a…
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| # | Resource Title | Description | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Literature and Victorian Religion | Most of the high profile female writers of this period were committed Christians. The Broad Church… | Julian Thompson |
| 2 | The Women who 'Meant to Do It': George Eliot and Celebrity Performance | The novelist Patricia Duncker gives the keynote lecture at the Life-Writing and Female Celebrity… | Patricia Duncker |
| 3 | The lifted veil | ebook version of The lifted veil | |
| 4 | Mr. Gilfil's love story | ebook version of Mr. Gilfil's love story | |
| 5 | The mill on the Floss | ebook version of The mill on the Floss | |
| 6 | Felix Holt, the radical | ebook version of Felix Holt, the radical | |
| 7 | The sad fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton | ebook version of The sad fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton | |
| 8 | Janet's repentance | ebook version of Janet's repentance | |
| 9 | The physiology of common life | This scientific text, by George Eliot's partner, was thought to be highly influential for Eliot. | |
| 10 | Feminist Approaches to Literature | This essay offers a very basic introduction to feminist literary theory, and a compendium of… | Kate O'Connor |