Author

George Eliot

George Eliot — 3 titles in the rankings, first published between 1860 and 1871. They average 7.8 — level with the catalogue as a whole.

Editor’s note The pen name of Mary Ann Evans, who chose a man’s name to be taken seriously and to keep her private life, including her years with the married critic George Henry Lewes, out of reviews of her books. Middlemarch (1871–72), published in eight parts, follows a whole provincial town and is often named the greatest English novel; Virginia Woolf called it one of the few English novels written for grown-up people. Silas Marner (1861) is short and tender, The Mill on the Floss (1860) close to her own childhood. Start with Silas Marner, then Middlemarch.

Ranked titles: 3 books
Average score: 7.8
Total ratings: 456
First published: 1860–1871