Contemporaries on George Eliot's Works

An understanding of how George Eliot’s contemporaries were reading and responding to her published works helps us appreciate her reach, her fame, and her historical significance.

In this section, you will find commentary on Eliot's works published in periodicals during and shortly beyond her lifetime.

The George Eliot Archive offers far more reviews and commentary on Eliot's works than any print volume. As a digital scholarly edition, we are able to continuously expand as new items are identified. We have relied on the work of editors of printed collections as our starting point and continued to build our collection well beyond what has been available. Our digital edition more than quadruples the number of previously collected reviews of Middlemarch, facilitating new avenues of inquiry into the novel's early reception.

We also have an extensive collection of articles reporting on and summarizing lectures presented on George Eliot’s works and on her literary influence within and outside of England. As these documents demonstrate, Eliot's writing garnered widespread acclaim from professional critics and common citizens alike, who generally praised the creativity, wit, complex characters, and the moral philosophy incorporated into her writings.


If you are unable to locate a specific review or article about Eliot's works in this section, please let us know. We'll find it, upload it, and send you the link. 


"George Eliot." Burlington Weekly Free Press, 5 May 1876.

Norland, Annie. "George Eliot." Galveston Daily News, 27 May 1877.

"George Eliot." Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 30 Apr. 1879.

"George Eliot." St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 11 Mar. 1881, p. 9.

"George Eliot." Boston Daily Advertiser, 21 Mar. 1883, p. 8.

"George Eliot." Milwaukee Sentinel, 14 May 1883, p. 8.

"George Eliot." Rocky Mountain News, 13 May 1883, p. 11.

"George Eliot." Pall Mall Gazette, 27 Jan. 1885.

"George Eliot." Daily Picayune, 29 Jun 1888, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Blackburn Standard and Weekly Express, 1 Nov. 1890, p. 3.

"George Eliot." Daily Picayune, 4 Mar. 1895, p. 2.

"George Eliot." Friend of India & Statesman, 30 Oct. 1895, p. 5.

"George Eliot." Daily Inter Ocean, 12 Sept. 1896, p. 13.

"George Eliot." North American, 1 Mar. 1898, p. 5.

"George Eliot." Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 23 Oct. 1903, p. 1.

"George Eliot." Devon and Exeter Daily Gazette, 5 Mar. 1910, p. 2.

Woolf, Virginia. "George Eliot." Times Literary Supplement, 20 Nov. 1919, pp. 657–658.

"Publications Received." Morning Post, 8 Jan. 1898, p. 6.

"Literary and Other Notes." Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 12 Jan. 1884, p. 3.

"News." Sheffield Evening Telegraph, 6 Apr. 1888, p. 2.

"Literary Notes." Belfast News-Letter, 7 Dec. 1875.

"Fiction: Past and Present." Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 24 Dec. 1904, p. 2.

"Dramatic Recital." Hastings and St. Leonards Observer, 26 Nov. 1892, p. 2.

Simcox, Edith. "Middlemarch." The Academy, 1 Jan. 1873, p. 1-4.

Brownell, W. C. "George Eliot." Victorian Prose Masters; Thackeray - Carlyle - George Eliot - Mathew Arnold - Ruskin - George Meredith. New York, Charles Scribner's Son, 1901, pp. 99-145.

"The Encyclopedia Britannica: The Third New Volume." Standard, 11 Jul. 1902, p. 4.

"George Eliot and Boadicea." London Mainly about People, 16 Mar. 1907, p. 295.

Colvin, Sydney. The Fortnightly Review Vol XIII. London, Virtue and Co., 1 January 1873.

Oliphant, James. "George Eliot." Victorian Novelists. London, Blackie & Son, 1899, pp. 78-143.

Linton, Eliza Lynn. "George Eliot." Women Novelists of Queen Victoria's Reign: A Book of Appreciations, London, Hurst & Blackett, limited, 1897, pp. 61-115.

Bonnell, Henry Houston. "George Eliot: The Literature of Power and Cup of Strength." Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Jane Austin. New York, Longmans, Green, and co., 1902, pp. 131-322.

Elton, Oliver. A Survey of English Literature: 1780-1880. Vol. 2. The Macmillan Company, 1920, pp. 93-99. George Eliot Archive.

Jacobs, Joseph. "George Eliot." George Eliot, Matthew Arnold, Browning, Newman : Essays and Reviews From the 'Athenaeum,' London, D. Nutt, 1891, pp. 1-73.

Parkinson, S. Scenes From the "George Eliot" Country. Leeds, R. Jackson, 1888.

Belloc, Bessie Rayner. In a Walled Garden. Macmillan & Co., 1895, pp. 209-210, 250-251.

"George Eliot's Life." Liverpool Mercury, 27 Jan. 1885, p. 7.

"Saturday's New Books." Standard, 24 June 1895, p. 3.

"Nodion O'R Brifddinas." Y Goleuad, 30 Apr. 1887, p. 12.

"'George Eliot." Devon and Exeter Gazette, 5 Mar. 1910, p. 2.

"Wit and Humour." Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 14 Feb. 1891, p. 2.

"Literature." Morning Post, 22 Dec. 1883, p. 3.

"News." Northampton Mercury, 3 May 1901, p. 8.

"Multiple News Items." Penny Illustrated Paper, 14 Oct. 1871, p. 227.

"Portsmouth Literary and Scientific Society." Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, 2 Apr. 1881, p. 6.

"George Eliot's Account of 'Dinah Morris." Derbyshire Times, 15 Jan. 1881, p. 6.

"[A Review of] Felix Holt, the Radical." Trewman's Exeter Flying Post, 27 June 1866, p. 6.

"Multiple Classified Advertisements." Boston Investigator, 28 Feb. 1855.

Pettle, Z. F. "George Eliot." Burlington Weekly Post, 11 May 1887.

"Multiple Classified Advertisements." Boston Investigator, 3 Jan. 1855.

"The Last Number of the Quarterly Review has a Review of the Novels of 'George Eliot.'" Daily Evening Bulletin, 17 Dec. 1860.

"George Eliot." Queenslander, 3 October 1891, p. 634.

George Eliot. "George Eliot on Women." Wollondilly Press, 13 September 1911, p. 3.

"George Eliot's Characters." Warragul Guardian, 22 November 1895, p. 5.

"George Eliot's Characters." Broadford Courier and Reedy Creek Times, 29 November 1895, p. 6.

Eliot, George. "Gems From George Eliot." Maitland Daily Mercury, 21 May 1907, p. 2.

Johnson, R. Brimley. "The Woman's Man: An Ideal and a Point of View." The Women Novelists, London, W. Collins sons & co., ltd, 1918, pp. 245-262.

Johnson, R. Brimley. "'Jane Eyre' to 'Scenes of Clerical Life.'" The Women Novelists, London, W. Collins sons & co., ltd, 1918, pp. 179-203.

"George Eliot's Goal." Queensland Figaro, 15 July 1933, p. 7.

Eliot, George. "Detached Thoughts." Wallaroo Times, 15 June 1887, p. 4.

"George Eliot's 'Dinah Morris.'" Telegraph, 17 March 1881, p. 3.

"George Eliot, Prophetess." Hebrew Standard of Australasia, 22 November 1945, p. 7.

Eliot, George. "Gems From George Eliot." Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser, 28 May 1907, p. 6.

Eliot, George. "Gems From George Eliot." Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 30 March 1907, p. 11.

Eliot, George. "Sayings From George Eliot." Zeehan and Dundas Herald, 16 June 1915, p. 4.

Eliot, George. "Women: George Eliot." Worker, 23 May 1908, p. 10.

Eliot, George. "Sayings of George Eliot." Maitland Daily Mercury, 17 September 1898, p. 5.

"After George Eliot." Herald, 9 January 1918, p. 3.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Women." Picton Post, 27 September 1911, p. 7.

"George Eliot." Sydney Morning Herald, 14 April 1885, p. 9.

"Sidelights on George Eliot." Daily Telegraph, 24 June 1911, p. 6.

"George Eliot's Heroines." Australian Star, 14 August 1897, p. 8.

"George Eliot's Earnings." Daily Mail, 28 June 1919, p. 12.

"George Eliot's Novels." Courier Mail, 9 June 1934, p. 14.

"George Eliot Staged." Canberra Times, 3 June 1927, p. 14.

"George Eliot's Earnings." Evening Telegraph, 7 April 1902, p. 3.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Women." Sunday Sun, 2 September 1906, p. 10.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Women." Sunday Sun, 2 September 1906, p. 10.

"George Eliot's MSS." Australasian, 12 September 1891, p. 45.

"George Eliot's Novels." Telegraph, 11 April 1905, p. 4.

"George Eliot and Gardening." Telegraph, 11 July 1917, p. 2.

"George Eliot's Forthcoming Novel." Brisbane Courier, 28 March 1876, p. 3.

X. "George Eliot's Novels." Week, 17 April 1925, p. 29.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Women." Tumut and Adelong Times, 15 September 1911, p. 3.

Morley, John. "George Eliot's Novels." Australasian, 3 November 1866, p. 6.

"George Eliot." Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser, 12 May 1885, p. 2.

"George Eliot's Characters." Cobram Courier, 28 November 1895, p. 6.

Eliot, George. "Sayings of George Eliot." Herald, 28 March 1881, p. 3.

"George Eliot's Books." Ovens and Murray Advertiser, 9 June 1877, p. 3.

"A Polish George Eliot." Jewish Herald, 16 September 1910, p. 8.

"George Eliot as Poet." Herald, 30 August 1907, p. 4.

"George Eliot and Gardening." Telegraph, 10 July 1917, p. 2.

Eliot, George. "Sayings From George Eliot." Daily Herald, 7 August 1915, p. 10.

"George Eliot's 'Adam Bede.'" Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 12 August 1893, p. 3.

Eliot, George. "Sayings From George Eliot." Australian Worker, 10 June 1915, p. 19.

"Link with George Eliot." Australasian, 14 September 1929, p. 6.

George Eliot. "George Eliot on Women." Queanbeyan Age, 26 September 1911, p. 3.

"George Eliot's Company." Australian Worker, 17 September 1914, p. 17.

Eliot, George. "Gems From George Eliot." Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser, 12 April 1907, p. 2.

"George Eliot." Bendigo Advertiser, 21 May 1881, p. 2.

"George Eliot." Queenslander, 18 June 1931, p. 34.

"George Eliot." Evening Journal, 13 May 1890, p. 3.

"George Eliot." Woman Voter, 6 November 1919, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Adelaide Observer, 1 July 1911, p. 6.

"George Eliot." Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 January 1881, p. 5.

"George Eliot." Adelaide Observer, 4 December 1875, p. 6.

"George Eliot." Mercury, 31 January 1920, p. 10.

"George Eliot." Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 1911, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Catholic Press, 8 August 1918, p. 10.

"George Eliot." South Australian Register, 25 November 1875, p. 5.

"George Eliot." Sydney Morning Herald, 2 August 1902, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Register, 24 June 1911, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Telegraph, 1 July 1889, p. 4.

"George Eliot." Table Talk, 25 June 1903, p. 15.

"George Eliot." South Australian Register, 10 May 1876, p. 7.

"George Eliot." Evening Journal, 25 November 1875, p. 3.

"New Novels." The Athenaeum, 6 April 1861, pp. 464-465.

"A Batch of Last Year's Novels." Dublin University Magazine, April 1862, pp. 398-401.

Bennett, Joan. George Eliot: Her Mind and Her Art. Cambridge University Press, 1948.

"Felix Holt, the Radical." The Nation, 16 Aug. 1866, pp. 127-128.

Henley, W. E. "Views and Reviews; Essays in Appreciation." London, D. Nutt, 1890. pp. 130-132.

Francillon, R. E. "George Eliot's First Romance." The Gentleman's Magazine. New York, AMS Press, 1876. pp. 411 - 427.

Picciotto, James. "Deronda the Jew." The Gentleman's Magazine. New York, AMS Press, 1876. pp. 593-603.

"Impressions of Theophrastus Such." The Edinburgh Review. New York, The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, 1879. pp. 287-302.

"Impressions of Theophrastus Such." The Academy, London, Robert Scott Walker, 1879. pp. 555-557.

"Impressions of Theophrastus Such." The Saturday Review, London, 1879. pp. 805-806.

Bullett, Gerald. George Eliot, Her Life and Books. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1948.

"Art. VI. --- Theophrastus Such." New Haven, The Westminster Review, vol. 112, 1879, pp. 185-196.

“George Eliot as a Poet” Contemporary Review, published in George Eliot’s Poems, NY: Thomas Y Crowell, n.d.

Allen, Walter Ernest. George Eliot. New York, Macmillan Publishers, 1964.

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"George Eliot Centenary." Geelong Advertiser, 13 November 1919, p. 3.

"George Eliot's 'Dinah Morris'." Week, 19 March 1881, p. 11.

"George Eliot." South Australian Register, 23 April 1885, p. 5.

Hamilton, C. J. Women Writers: Their Works and Ways Volume 1. London, Ward, Lock, Bowden and co., 1892-93.

Eliot, George. "Belles Lettres: Three Novels." Westminster Review, LXVI, October 1856, pp. 571-78.

Forster, John. "Adam Bede." Edinburgh Review [American Edition], July 1859, pp. 223-246.

"Belles Lettres." Westminster Review, July 1861, pp. 151-152.

Collins, John Churchton. Studies in Poetry and Criticism. London, G. Bell and Sons, 1905.

Colvin, Sydney. "Critical Notices." The Fortnightly Review Volume XII. London, Virtue and Co., 1 January 1873, pp. 142-148.

"George Eliot on Methodism." Chronicle, 2 January 1897, p. 35.

"George Eliot and Methodism." Express and Telegraph, 26 December 1896, p. 5.

"George Eliot." Australasian, 27 May 1876, p. 8.

"George Eliot." Age, 4 October 1919, p. 23.

"George Eliot's New Novel." Standard, 3 June 1872, p. 2.

"Middlemarch: The Eighth and Last Book." Standard, 4 December 1872, p. 5.

"George Eliot's New Novel." Standard, 8 August 1872, p. 5.

"The Humour of Middlemarch." Spectator, 14 December 1872, pp. 1582-1583

"Literature: George Eliot's New Novel." Manchester Guardian, 21 December 1871, p. 7.

Hammond, Eleanor P. "The Use of Episode in the Teaching of Fiction." Modern Language Notes, vol. 17, no. 2. Feb 1902, pp. 33-36.

Fairley, Edwin. "The Art of George Eliot in 'Silas Marner'." The English Journal, Apr 1913, vol 2, no 4, pp. 221-30.

Block, Louis James. "The Poetry of George Eliot." The Sewanee Review, vol. 26, no. 1, Jan 1918, pp. 85-91.

"George Eliot." Australasian, 13 August 1927, p. 62.

"George Eliot." Sydney Jewish News, 21 May 1948.

"George Eliot and Judaism." The Australian Jewish Chronicle, 4 October 1923, p. 16.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA : 1861 - 1954), 14 November 1908, p. 6.

"George Eliot's Novel." Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser,8 July 1876, p. 7.

"'George Eliot' and Her Teachings." Age, 27 April 1889, p. 11.

"Adam Bede: George Eliot Originals." Herald, 2 January 1897, p. 1.

"George Eliot on Human Nature." Bacchus Marsh Express, 30 July 1910, p. 3.

Sully, James. "The Art of George Eliot." Mind, Vol. 6, No. 23, July 1881, pp. 378-394.

"Film Version of George Eliot Book." Daily Telegraph, 7 September 1936, p. 13.

"The Religious Teachings of George Eliot." Daily Telegraph, 7 January 1884, p. 6.

Louch, Rev. Thomas. "Contributor's Column: The Novels of George Eliot." Victorian Express, 19 March 1887, p. 6.

"'George Eliot' in Real Life." Express and Telegraph, 6 November 1897, p. 5.

"Romola: George Eliot's Novel Filmed." Age, 16 July 1927, p. 16.

"George Eliot: Is She Out of Date?" Age, 19 November 1932, p. 5.

"Literature: Essays by George Eliot." Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 10 May 1884, p. 869.

"Romola: Theatre Royal Attraction-- George Eliot's Novel." Newcastle Sun, 11 December 1926, p. 2.

"George Eliot." Adelaide Observer, 11 March 1882, p. 41.

"The Work of George Eliot." Australasian, 1 January 1881, p. 8.

Haskell, Jessica J. "George Eliot's 'The Mill on the Floss'--(I.)" The Journal of Education, 28 Oct 1915, Vol. 82, No. 15 (2051), p. 403, 408.

Unknown. "George Eliot: Her Best Characters." Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939), 15 June 1920, p. 8.

Unknown. "George Eliot: Some Sayings from Her Novels." Rutherglen Sun and Chiltern Valley Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), 12 May 1914, p. 4.

"Books: George Eliot Through Her Letters." Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 7 December 1985, p. 2.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot: Some Sayings from Her Novels." Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times (Albury, NSW : 1903 - 1920), 16 November 1910.

Eliot, George. "A Prayer by George Eliot." South Australian Weekly Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1881 - 1889), 27 December 1884, p. 16.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle (Vic. : 1882 - 1918), 7 November 1908.

Unknown. "George Eliot: Her Felix Holt." Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), 21 September 1907, p. 6.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot: Some Sayings from Her Novels." Northern Times (Carnarvon, WA : 1905 - 1952), 14 October 1911, p. 6.

Eliot, George. "'Sayings,' by George Eliot ('Adam Bede')." Williamstown Chronicle (Vic. : 1856 - 1954), 5 April 1873, p. 6.

Eliot, George, 1819-1880. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Traralgon Record (Traralgon, Vic. : 1886 - 1932), 6 November 1908, p. 5.

"George Eliot's Art: Its Real Goal." Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), 23 April 1927, p. 4.

"'Silas Marner:' George Eliot's Novel Filmed." Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), 21 January 1917, p. 2.

Eliot, George, 1819-1880. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 - 1954), 14 May 1935, p. 6.

Eliot, George, 1819-1880. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 - 1954), 2 December 1937, p. 5.

Eliot, George, 1819-1880. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 - 1954), 20 April 1933, p. 8.

Eliot, George. "George Eliot on Human Nature." Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 - 1954), 16 November 1908, p. 6.

Ruskin, John. "Mr. Ruskin on George Eliot." Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), 3 February 1891.

"The Reviewer: George Eliot's Forthcoming Novel."
Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), 25 March 1876, p. 12.

W. B. D. "George Eliot: A Roundabout Paper." Sydney
Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 11 September 1879, p. 3.

"A Nugget of Wisdom: George Eliot's Opinions of Swiss Watches." Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), 29 August 1892, p. 3.

"A Nugget of Wisdom: George Eliot's Opinions of Swiss Watches." Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), 6 July 1891, p. 3.

"George Eliot and Her Teachings." Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 27 April 1889, p. 13.

"George Eliot's Novels: Cheap Reissues." Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 29 November 1913, p. 6.

"George Eliot as a 'Man of Letters.'" Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 19 July 1902, p. 6.

"George Eliot: Her Best Characters." Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 7 February 1920, p. 7.

Kaufmann, David. George Eliot and Judaism: An Attempt to Appreciate Daniel Deronda. Translated from the German by J. W. Ferrier. Edinburgh & London: 1877.

https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433076086416

Eliot, George. Poems, Essays, And Leaves From a Note Book. Edited by Esther Wood. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1904.

Eliot, George and Esther Wood. Poems, Essays, And Leaves From a Note Book. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1904.

Eliot, George, 1819-1880. "Transatlantic Latter-Day Poetry." The Leader, vol. 7, 7 June 1856, pp. 547-48.

Sweetser, Kate Dickinson. Boys and Girls From George Eliot. New York: Duffield & Company, 1906.

Backus, Truman Jay, and Helen Dawes Brown. The Great English Writers From Chaucer to George Eliot: With Selections Illustrating Their Work. New York: Sheldon & Co., 1889.

Olcott, Charles S. (Charles Sumner). George Eliot, Scenes And People In Her Novels. New York: T. Y. Crowell & co, 1910.

Bonnell, Henry H. (Henry Houston). Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Jane Austen: Studies In Their Works. New York [etc.]: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1902.

The Academy (1837)

Copeland, Charles Townsend "George Eliot and Mrs. Humphry Ward." The North American Review, 1892. p. 503-505.

Hutton, R. H., "Felix Holt," Spectator, vol. 39, 23 June 1866, pp. 692-693.

Hutton, R. H., "George Eliot's Middlemarch," Spectator, vol. 44, 16 December 1871, pp. 1528-1529.