George Eliot: The Last Victorian

kathryn hughes nadia may

Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot (1819-1880) achieved lasting renown with the novels Silas Marner , Middlemarch , and Adam Bede . Her masterworks were written after years of living an unconventional life, including a scandalous voyage to Europe with the married writer and editor George Henry Lewes. The scandal intensified when she moved in with Lewes after he separated from his wife. Eliot re-entered London's social life years later, when her literary success made it impossible for respectable society to dismiss her (even Queen Victoria enjoyed her books). She counted among her friends and supporters Dickens, Trollope, and several other Victorian literati.

In this intimate biography, author Hughes provides insight into Eliot's life and work, weighing Eliot's motivations for her controversial actions, and examining the paradoxical Victorian society which she documented to perfection in her novels.

Genres biographynonfictionliteraturehistoryvictorianbiography memoiraudiobookfemale authorscriticism19th century

416 pages, Paperback

First published November 5,1998

Literary awards

james tait black memorial prize,

This edition

Format: 416 pages, Paperback
Published: July 2, 2001 by Cooper Square Press
ISBN: 9780815411215
ASIN: 0815411219
Language: English

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George Eliot

George Eliot

Mary Ann Evans, 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), Ro...

About the author

kathryn hughes

Kathryn Hughes was born in Altrincham, near Manchester. After completing a secretarial course, Kathryn met her husband and they married in Canada. For twenty-nine years they ran a business together, raised two children and travelled when they could to places such as India, Singapore, South Africa and New Zealand. Kathryn and her family now make their home in a village near Manchester. The Letter, Kathryn's first novel, was an international bestseller, and her second The Secret has been highly acclaimed. Kathryn is now at work on her third novel, The Key.~ Headline Publishing

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.