George Eliot, Romola

Nathan Uglow (Trinity All Saints, Leeds)
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George Eliot and G. H. Lewes were anxious authors and preferred to be out of the country while their latest books were being published, so May of 1860 duly found them on a Continental tour. Happily it soon transpired they had little cause for anxiety as back home her novel

Silas Marner

was selling well and so was his

Physiology of Common Life

. Buoyed up by this news and inspired by the artistic beauty and historical heritage of their Florentine surroundings, Lewes, ever the astute literary agent, suggested that Eliot write something in the very marketable historical novel genre. Eliot was so enthusiastic about the idea that she set to work straight away. Instead of sticking with Eliot's usual publisher, the Blackwood brothers (John and William), Lewes shopped around and finally placed theā€¦

1846 words

Citation: Uglow, Nathan. "Romola". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2324, accessed 19 March 2024.]

2324 Romola 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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