'The important work of moving the world forward'

 “It’s never toolate to be who you might have been.” – George Eliot

 

 Born in England on this datein 1819, Mary Ann Evans realized early in her career that if she was going tobe taken seriously as a novelist she needed to change heridentity.   While women did write under their own names duringher lifetime, she said she used a male pen name to escape the stereotype ofwomen only writing lighthearted romances. She also wished to have her fictionjudged separately from her already extensive and widely known work as an editorand critic. 

 

 So, she becameGeorge Eliot, regarded as one of the best novelists of the 19th Century,authoring such classics as Mill on the Floss and SilasMarner – known for their realism and psychologicalinsights.   Self-taught, she was the first female writerfor The Westminster Review, starting in 1850 and becoming assistanteditor in 1851.   By the time she started writing novels she waspretty much running the magazine, contributing many essays and reviews,something she continued even after her success with creative fiction.

 

“The important work ofmoving the world forward," she said, "does not have to wait to bedone by perfect men.”