The Life of George Eliot - A Critical Biography

The life story of the Victorian novelist George Eliot is as dramatic and complex as her best plots. This new assessment of her life and work combines recent biographical research with penetrating literary criticism, resulting in revealing new interpretations of her literary work.

• A fresh look at George Eliot's captivating life story
• Includes original new analysis of her writing
• Deploys the latest biographical research
• Combines literary criticism with biographical narrative to offer a rounded perspective

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

List of Abbreviations xiii

1 The History of a Writer: George Eliot and Biographies 1

2 Early Years: 1819-50 22

3 London and Lewes: 1850-4 64

4 Marian Lewes and George Eliot: 1855-60 95

5 Silas Marner and Romola: 1860-4 120

6 Felix Holt and The Spanish Gypsy: 1865-9 153

7 Middlemarch: 1870-2 181

8 Daniel Deronda: 1873-6 207

9 Impressions of Theophrastus Such: 1877-9 235

10 The Final Years: 1879 to Cross's Life 255

Bibliography 271

Index 287