The Journals of George Eliot

List of abbreviations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Introduction; 1. Diary 1854-61: (i) Weimar, 20 July-3 November 1854; (ii) Berlin, 3 November 1854-March 1855; (iii) England, March 1855-19 June 1861; 2. Diary 1861-77; 3. Diary 1879; 4. Diary 1880; 5. Recollections of Weimar, 1854; 6. Recollections of Berlin, 1854-5; 7. Recollections of Ilfracombe, 1856; 8. Recollections of the Scilly Isles and Jersey, 1857; 9. The Making of George Eliot, 1857-9; 10. Germany, 1858; 11. Recollections of Italy, 1860; 12. Italy, 1864; 13. Normandy and Brittany, 1865; Explanatory index.

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 - 22 December 1880, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862-63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871-72) and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of which are set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight.

'The editors of this volume have done their work with admirable tact and persistence.' Terry Eagleton, The Independent on Sunday 'This volume forms a valuable addition to Eliot scholarship ... Margaret Harris and Judith Johnston have produced a definintive work for future generations of Eliot enthusiasts and scholars.' Sally Shuttleworth, The Times Literary Supplement 'The editors, who have produced a masterly piece of work, have included a chronology, excellent notes and a most valuable 'explanatory index.' The Contemporary Review 'Unshrouded by prejudices and the various agendas of biographers, these abridged texts provide fascinating direct access to the author. The unobtrusive editing is suffciently informative without being overwhelming ...'. Charlotte Cory, The Independent '... a great contribution to scholarship ... a remarkable book for which biographers, critics and readers must be grateful and by which they should be enlightened.' Barbara Hardy, The George Eliot Review 'This is a most valuable book, boon for those who wish to learn more about the remarkable woman who gave us, among others, The Mill on the Floss, Romola and Middlemarch.' Canberra Times ' [A] beautifully edited and designed work ... the pleasures it offers to the reader of George Eliot are manifold ... It is a work long needed. That it is interpretatively, textually, and typographically so well done makes it worth the wait.' Carol A. Martin, Boise State University '... the real merit of this book is that it opens a whole field of these quietly resonating details, committed to the privacy of Eliot's treasured and closely guarded notebooks from 1854 to a few months before her death.' Mark Wormald, The Review of English Studies