Discover George Eliot

Painting of a seated woman. Her light coloured hair is wavy and gathered up at the jaw line. She has blue eyes. She is wearing a white blouse with collar and a black jacket. The wall behind is green.
Mary Anne Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, most of which are set in provincial England.

About the Project

This website has been created as part of the Exploring Eliot project. It brings together the fantastic George Eliot collections at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery, Nuneaton Library, Coventry Archives and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum.

Discover George Eliot

Find out more about the life of the famous author who grew up in Nuneaton and Coventry.

Learn

Films, poetry and animation all inspired by George Eliot and the collections.

Featured objects

View the collection

Explore Eliot

More stories

Unscripted

Explore creative responses to the George Eliot collection at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery.

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Timeline

Watercolour painting showing the side of a large house on the right hand side. A tree with bare branches is on a lawn in front of the trees and green and brown trees are on the left hand side. Blue sky and clouds are overhead.

Sent to Coventry

Eliot’s time in Coventry had an important impact on her professional and personal life.

What’s in a name?

Although her birth name was Mary Anne Evans, George Eliot was known by many different names during her lifetime. Discover why she wrote under the name, George Eliot.