22 Nov 2021
On This Day
22 November 2021 Cheryl

22 November 1819: Mary Ann Evans is born

George Eliot silhouette and Arbury Hall

Mary Anne Evans received £20 for her first book – which was a translation of a work of biblical scholarship. She undertook the translation of David Strauss’ Das Leben Jesu, or Life of Jesus, from German to English when she was in her mid-twenties. The book was controversial because it claimed that although a historical Jesus had probably existed, he was not the son of God. [1]

In any age, Mary Ann Evans would have been extraordinary, but in the Victorian era she really challenged conventional norms. To be born a female with a formidable brain and an ugly face was a terrible handicap in Victorian England.

Born on 22 November 1819 on an estate in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, Mary Ann was the third child of Robert and Christiana Evans. She was a voracious reader and obviously intelligent, although not considered to be physically beautiful. This led her father to invest in an education not often afforded women at that time.

Too clever for a Victorian female, Mary Ann taught herself several languages, was a talented pianist, and became a loving stepmother to the sons of the man she loved. Mary Ann/Marian/Mrs Lewes/Mrs Cross (this remarkable woman went by many different names throughout her life) shocked society by living with a married man, was cut off by her father for her rejection of religious faith, and by her adored brother for her scandalous liaison. And yet she bore it all stoically and turned to writing as an escape.

Her life was a constant struggle for love, acceptance, and intellectual freedom, and as she tried to find her true place in the world, she changed her name to become George Eliot. By her pen, George Eliot earned more than did any other woman in Victorian England.