When George Eliot agreed (reluctantly, by all accounts) to have her portrait made in 1865, she surely never imagined that her face would be forever linked with her published works.

In the 1850s, Mrs. Lewes adopted the pseudonym George Eliot, and several years later, she was a nationwide sensation, beloved even by Queen Victoria. As her wealth and fame burgeoned, ...

For yes, in case you’ve been living under a giant rockery, George Eliot was a “her,” with several roles other than her nom de plume: daughter, sister, friend, wife, stepmother.

George Eliot had no doubts, at any rate; if impressionism, before she laid down her pen, had already begun to he talked about, it would have made no difference with her — she would have had no ...