George Eliot

Literary Birthday – 22 November – George Eliot

George Eliot was born 22 November 1819, and died 22 December 1880.

George Eliot: 10 Quotes

  1. Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.
  2. No story is the same to us after a lapse of time; or rather we who read it are no longer the same interpreters.
  3. People who can’t be witty exert themselves to be devout and affectionate.
  4. The finest language is mostly made up of simple unimposing words.
  5. The memory has as many moods as the temper, and shifts its scenery like a diorama.
  6. I have the conviction that excessive literary production is a social offence.
  7. Poetry and art and knowledge are sacred and pure.
  8. I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same mind. But the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear.
  9. It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.
  10. It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Mary Anne Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, including  Adam BedeThe Mill on the Floss, and Middlemarch. Her novels are set in provincial England and known for their psychological insight. She used a male pen name to escape the stereotype of women only writing light-hearted romances. She also wanted to shield her private life from public scrutiny. She lived with the married George Henry Lewes for over 20 years. Middlemarch, has been described as the greatest novel in the English language by Martin Amis and by Julian Barnes.

Source for Image

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Eliot,_por_Fran%C3%A7ois_D%27Albert_Durade.jpg

National Portrait Gallery, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

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Posted on: 22nd November 2012
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