In September, 1856, she began, as an experiment, to write fiction. In November The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton was forwarded to the Blackwoods by Mr. Lewes as the work of a friend of his. It was published in Blackwood’s Magazine early in 1857, and fifty guineas paid for it. An arrangement was made by which “George Eliot” was to supply further Scenes from Clerical Life. Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story came next, followed by Janet’s Repentance. In December these stories were issued in a volume by the Blackwoods, and the author received £120 for the first edition.
Adam Bede, her first novel, was published in 1859. She received £800 for the copyright during four years. The book was received with enthusiasm. It was followed by The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1863), Felix Holt (1866), The Spanish Gypsy, a drama (1868), Middlemarch (1871-2), Poems, collected “1874,” Daniel Deronda (1876), and The Impressions of Theophrastus Such (1879). The short story called The Lifted Veil was published in Blackwood’s, July, 1859; Brother Jacob appeared in The Cornhill Magazine, July, 1864. Romola also made its appearance in The Cornhill, the publishers paying for it the sum of £7,000. £5,000 was received from the Blackwoods for Felix Holt; and the profits of Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda were still greater.
In February, 1859, Mr. and Mrs. Lewes removed to Holly Lodge, Wandsworth; in December, 1860, to 16 Blandford Square; and in November, 1863, to their permanent home, “The Priory,” 21 North Bank, Regent’s Park. They purchased in 1876 a country-house at Witley, near Godalming, Surrey. They were both fond of travelling, and the record of their many continental journeys is full of interest. It was their custom to leave town at once as soon as George Eliot had finished a book.
In November, 1878, occurred the death of Mr. Lewes. For some time George Eliot remained in seclusion, broken down by grief. She edited Mr. Lewes’ MSS., and established as a memorial the George Henry Lewes studentship at Cambridge.
In May, 1880, she was married to Mr. John Walter Cross, who had long been the dear friend of herself and Mr. Lewes. Her marriage created general surprise. It may best be understood by those who have become acquainted, through Mr. Cross’s delicate and conscientious work, ‘George Eliot’s Life,’ with the needs of her singularly sensitive nature.
Mr. and Mrs. Cross immediately left England for the Continent, returning in July to Witley. Mrs. Cross had a long illness in the autumn, which left her much weakened. On the 22d of December, 1880, she died at No. 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, having been confined to the house only four days.
Her husband concludes her biography with the words: “Her spirit joined
‘—— that choir invisible
Whose music is the gladness of the world.’”
Nor can any other words be so fit as these of her own—words wherein “the precious life-blood of a master spirit” is “embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.”