George Eliot - Highgate East Cemetery, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 33.986 W 000° 08.661
30U E 697911 N 5716682
George Eliot's grave is to be found in the East Cemetery at Highgate. It is located in square "C1" of the map of the cemetery and is close to one of the minor paths in the cemetery.
Waymark Code: WMH91D
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/09/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member rangerroad
Views: 2

George Eliot is well know for the novels penned under that name but the real persona of this person was that of a woman - Mary Ann Evans (Cross). She chose to write under a male name so that her works would be taken more seriously. Her novels included:

  •     Adam Bede, 1859
     
  •     The Mill on the Floss, 1860
     
  •     Silas Marner, 1861
     
  •     Romola, 1863
     
  •     Felix Holt, the Radical, 1866
     
  •     Middlemarch, 1871–72
     
  •     Daniel Deronda, 1876

Access to her grave is difficult as it does not have a pathway running alongside it. The grave is marked by a granite obelisk that is inscribed:

Of those immortal dead who live again
in minds made better by their presence

Here lies the body
of
George Eliot
Mary Ann Cross
Born 22 November 1819
Died 22 December 1880

The quotation is from one of her poems entitles The Choir Invisible.

The BBC website carries a biography:

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, one of the leading English novelists of the 19th century. Her novels, most famously 'Middlemarch', are celebrated for their realism and psychological insights.

George Eliot was born on 22 November 1819 in rural Warwickshire. When her mother died in 1836, Eliot left school to help run her father's household. In 1841, she moved with her father to Coventry and lived with him until his death in 1849. Eliot then travelled in Europe, eventually settling in London.

In 1850, Eliot began contributing to the 'Westminster Review', a leading journal for philosophical radicals, and later became its editor. She was now at the centre of a literary circle through which she met George Henry Lewes, with whom she lived until his death in 1878. Lewes was married and their relationship caused a scandal. Eliot was shunned by friends and family.

Lewes encouraged Eliot to write. In 1856, she began 'Scenes of Clerical Life', stories about the people of her native Warwickshire, which were published in 'Blackwood's Magazine'. Her first novel, 'Adam Bede', followed in 1859 and was a great success. She used a male pen name to ensure her works were taken seriously in an era when female authors were usually associated with romantic novels.

Her other novels include 'The Mill on the Floss' (1860), 'Silas Marner' (1861), 'Romola' (1863), 'Middlemarch' (1872) and 'Daniel Deronda' (1876). The popularity of Eliot's novels brought social acceptance, and Lewes and Eliot's home became a meeting place for writers and intellectuals.

After Lewes' death Eliot married a friend, John Cross, who was 20 years her junior. She died on 22 December 1880 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery in north London.

Description:
See detailed information.


Date of birth: 11/22/1819

Date of death: 12/22/1880

Area of notoriety: Literature

Marker Type: Monument

Setting: Outdoor

Visiting Hours/Restrictions: M-F 10am to 5pm / S&S 11am to 4pm

Fee required?: Yes

Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Grave of a Famous Person
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.