Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-07
| FAMOUS WOMEN OF HISTORY.
MARY ANN EVANS GEORGE ELIOT'O..
1819-188O.
copyrighted. 1913, BY Willis J. Abeet)
1819-.188O.

truly married as though by canon of
the church.
Whatever moralists may say Of the af-
fair, it is the fact that but for this as
ISOLATION the world would probably never
have known the George Eliot novels. 1t
was Lewes who first suggested to her
that she try her hand at fiction, and stood
by with cheer. suggestion and friendly
criticism when reluctantly and full OF
doubt she made the effort.
Her first book was "Amos Barton
which Mr.. Lewes sent to the Biackwood
house as an anonymous publication, one
promptly. recognized it as masterpiece.
Thackeray and Dickens applauded 1t
warmly, and the success it made was
maintained by the others in the series,
Scenes From Clerical Life. BY this
time Blackwood, though still ignorant of
the identity of his author. was clamorous
for a long novel. She responded with
adam Bede." Her earlier stories had
appeared in magazines before book pub
LEGATION, but this time she wished to
go straight to the public with the reg
ulation three-volume edition. The pub
Usher demurred, but finally yielded. The
novel was an instant success. Black
wood had agreed to pay $4,000 for the
book, but it's sales were 50 great that
he actually paid $1,000. For THE Mill
on the Floss" which followed. he paid
$4,000, and a like amount for s'Silas
Mariner" For her last book Daniel De-
ronda," George Smith. the publisher, Of
fered 100000, but she preferred serial
publication first, saying serious book
was better judged by readers who OBJ
tanned it in the leisurely month by month
publication in a magazine. Accordingly
she sold him the book rights alone for
$50, 900. Besides these sums Harper
Bros. paid for the American rights in
there was then no international copyright.
the following amounts, "Mill on the
Floss" $500; "Middlemarch." 5000;
Daniel Deronda,'' s., 500. In all her lit
mated s15O,OO0-a considerable growth
from the. 500 paid for the translation
of Strauss which occupied three years.
After her first success with adam
Bede." the lot of George Eliot was cast
in pleasant places. Lewes was widely
thorough cultivation. When we think
how much of George Eliot s.: career
was due. to his incentive one wonders
how much more he himself might have
been had he not concentrated his ef-
forts on her advancement. Their home
was a center for London literary folk
..e men, of course, for the women per-
sisted until the end in regarding Miss
Evans as declasse. IT was an age
or mOment-of extreme feminine prig-
neau declined an invitation to- be the
guest of honor at the prime minister's
because his wife had not called on her
''as a lady
In 1878 Lewes died. Little more than
year after the brilliant woman who
had so long lived as his wife amazed
her friends by marrying at the age of
sixty-one a gentleman named Cross, sew
eral years her junior Though in no
sense literary, Mr. Cross sympathized
sincerely with his wife's tastes and
after a long stay in Venice they re-
turned to London and began again the
Sunday afternoon receptions in which
she delighted. This happiness, how
ever. she was not destined to- enjoy long,
for in December of 1880 she died after
a brief illness.