by Rebecca Mead
When several years ago I wrote to John Burton, the indefatigable chairman of the George Eliot Fellowship, asking for information about the organization’s activities, he wrote back immediately not only to tell me about an upcoming study weekend devoted to The Mill on the Floss but also to invite me to be a speaker at it. The invitation was irresistible, as was the prospect of a charabanc tour of sites of George Eliot’s childhood. Subsequently John made himself available to guide me around Coventry and opened many doors for me there and in Nuneaton. I am very grateful to him, and to other members of the Fellowship and local champions of George Eliot, including Bill Adams, Kathleen Adams, Lynda Burton, Michael Harris, Barbara McKay, John Rignall, and Vivienne Wood. Mike Wastell, the general manager of the Griff House hotel and restaurant, generously showed me around his family’s home, once George Eliot’s.
Jonathan Ouvry, a great-great-grandson of George Henry Lewes, and the president of the George Eliot Fellowship, welcomed me into his home and graciously answered my many questions; thanks go to him and to his wife, Marjorie Ouvry, for their kindness and generosity. David Ouvry, another Lewes descendant, and Daphne Clarke were equally welcoming when I visited them; I am grateful to them for their warmth, hospitality, and enthusiasm about this project. Margaret Langford generously showed me around Lincoln College, Oxford, where her husband, Paul Langford, was rector until 2012; thanks go to both of them. Alana Harris, Darby Fellow in History at Lincoln, was kind enough to allow me into her rooms, once the Pattisons’. In Shottermill, Greta Turner conducted me around town and shared her encyclopedic historical knowledge. I thank Melanie and Will Pitcairn, who welcomed me into their house, once the home of Anne Gilchrist; Melanie also generously sent me further documents and contacts. Mark and Lindsey Pepper, the current owners of Cherrimans, were equally welcoming; I am grateful to them for allowing me to look out of their window and to discover the end of my book.
Many friends have contributed to this book, in various ways. I am grateful to Christian Brammer, Richard Cohen, Nick Denton, Jonathan Derbyshire, Christine Schwartz Hartley, Jane Haugh, Paul Holdengräber, Emily Jackson, Henry Phillips, Annie Piper, Elisabeth Prochnik, Carne Ross, Karmen Ross, Shari Spiegel, Benjamin Swett, Katherine Barrett Swett, and Barbara Wansbrough. My brother, Matthew Mead, and my sister-in-law, Julia Mead, have been supportive throughout.
This book is dedicated to my mother, Barbara Mead, and to my late father, Brian Mead, who died while I was halfway through writing it. My debt to them is on every page. I am grateful to my stepsons, Yona, Tzvi, and Zach, for everything they have taught me about young men, and for so much else. My son, Rafael, brightens my world; I hope he will read Middlemarch one day. The last word goes to my husband, George Prochnik, my own George. Without his kindness, encouragement, and inspiration, not a word of this book could have been written.
About the Author
REBECCA MEAD is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding. She lives in Brooklyn.