George Eliot

English, 1819–1880

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans (1819–1880), an English novelist who used a male pseudonym to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Her masterpiece Middlemarch is often considered the greatest novel in the English language, a sweeping portrait of provincial life that explores politics, religion, and the struggles of idealistic individuals. Eliot's realism and psychological insight made her one of the leading writers of the Victorian era.