" It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life. "
— Henry Ward Beecher
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) | First Editions
1819 - 1880
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), 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 is the author of seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Felix Holt, The Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876). Most of her novels are set in provincial England, and are loved for their realism and psychological insight. Like many female writers in this period, Evans used a male pseudonym to ensure her work was taken seriously; moreover, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romance novels.Her 1872 work Middlemarch has been described by Martin Amis and Julian Barnes as the greatest novel in the English language. In the 20th century she was championed by a new breed of critics, most notably by Virginia Woolf, who called Middlemarch "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people". Twentieth-century literary critic Harold Bloom placed Eliot among the greatest Western writers of all time. The various film and television adaptations of Eliot's books have re-introduced her to the wider reading public.
See below our stock of George Eliot First Editions, and fine bindings.
Results 1 - 9 (of 9)
The Spanish Gypsy. A Poem.
William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1868, FIRST EDITION. 8vo., 223 x 147mm., pps. 358 + 8-page publisher's catalogue. Bound in original blue cloth, gilt motif to upper, gilt titles and decoration to spine, grey-coloured coated endpapers.Some minor wear, spine a touch darkened, rubbed to extremities. Very good indeed. More about The Spanish Gypsy. A Poem
Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life.
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1874. [English Literature] FIRST SINGLE VOLUME EDITION, previously published in four volumes (1871-2). With engraved title (dated 1874). Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.621; [3], blank. Publisher's gilt-pictorial russet cloth, coated brown endpapers, edges untrimmed. Trivial dustiness to edge a clean, fine copy in... More about Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life
Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life.
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1871-2. [English Literary Classic] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (17 x 12 x 12cm), 4 volumes. With all the half titles, and all the secondary title [individual book title] pages bound in after the title pages. Bound in scarlet half calf by Baker and Son... More about Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life
The Complete Works, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner with Scenes of a Clerical Life, Felix Holt, Romola, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda.
London: Postlethwaite, Taylor and Knowles, 1908. [English Literature] LIMITED EDITION. 10 volumes, octavo. Frontispiece etchings. Handsomely bound for Bruswick Book Co. in half burgundy morocco with elegant gilt decoration to spines, marbled sides, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers. A lovely fine set, inside and out. The St James Edition. One... More about The Complete Works, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner with Scenes of a...
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe.
London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1861. [English Literature]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.[4 of publisher's advertisements]; [6]; 364; [16 of publisher's advertisements]. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles to spine and blind decoration to boards. All edges untrimmed. Armorial bookplate of Alfred Gilbey to front pastedown, neat ownership... More about Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe
The Works, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner with Scenes of a Clerical Life, Felix Holt, Romola, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, no date [1903]. [English Literature] FINELY BOUND. 8 volumes bound in 7. Octavo (20 x 13 x 27cm). Handsomely bound by Truelove and Hanson in half straight-grained brown morocco, nouveau-style gilt to spines, cloth sides, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Contents clean, discreet old label... More about The Works, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner with Scenes of a Clerical...
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1861. FIRST EDITION. Crown octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[iv], adverts; [ii], coated endpaper leaf, [vi]; 364; [xvi], advertisements. Elegantly rebound in the early twentieth century in dark green half crushed morocco, full gilt backs, moire silk-covered sides, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, original yellow endpaper... More about Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe
Felix Holt. The Radical.
William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1866. FIRST EDITION. In three volumes. Octavo, pp.304; pp.290; pp.284. An elegant set bound by Wood of London, c.1900 in half green crushed morocco with raised bands and gilt titles to spines evenly faded to brown, cloth boards with gilt rule, top edges gilt, marbled... More about Felix Holt. The Radical
![Manuscript Letter Declining an Invitation]. George Henry LEWES, George ELIOT, association](/pictures/thumb/50331.jpg?v=1534949575)
[Manuscript Letter Declining an Invitation].
London. no date [circa 1860]. ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LETTER. One small sheet of headed note paper from The Priory, 21 North Bank, Regent's Park, written in purple ink and backed onto a sheet of card (13 x 12cm). George Lewes here writes to Mrs Binyon, informing her that his partner Mary... More about Manuscript Letter Declining an Invitation
Results 1 - 9 (of 9)