George Eliot was just one of the many novelists one reads for a degree, but it was coming to Nuneaton and Coventry as a teacher that drew me to look more deeply and with increasing interest into this extraordinary writer who grew up and lived locally for the first half of her life. My interest in local history and photography have supported the literary interest.
I was a member of the Fellowship for many years before joining the Council and in 2006 I took over from Bill Adams as chair. For some years the succession of 150th anniversaries of the novels gave us useful reference point, all leading to the 2019 bicentenary celebrations. Thefe is still great joy in returning to the texts and being amazed again at her wisdom and compassion.
‘All passion becomes strength when it has an outlet from the narrow limits of our personal lot in the labour of our right arm, the cunning of our right hand, or the still, creative activity of our thought.’ (Adam Bede)
I believe that George Eliot is one of the greatest writers, ‘the female Shakespeare so to speak’ wrote a contemporary reviewer. I joined the George Eliot Fellowship in the 1990’s and soon after became a Council member under the leadership of Kathleen and Bill Adams, and later John Burton.
It was teaching The Mill on the Floss to A level students at Nuneaton’s King Edward VI Sixth Form College (KEC) that first gave me the idea to dramatise her novels for local young people to perform. But my creative thoughts would not have had an ‘outlet’ without close collaboration with the Head of Drama at KEC & theatre director Simon N. Winterman, and without the support of the Council of the George Eliot Fellowship.
Over several years we performed Eliot’s novels in local theatres, schools and churches, each dramatisation designed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the novel’s publication. In 2016 Simon Winterman’s theatre company Sudden Impulse took Felix Holt to the Edinburgh Fringe to.
A further ‘creative activity’ has been a collaboration with local illustrator Sarah Moore to produce a children’s version of Silas Marner. The project could not have gone ahead without the Nicholas Chamberlaine Trust who awarded us a grant and presented every child in Bedworth with their own copy to commemorate Eliot’s Bicentenary, and also the support of Warwickshire County Council. Sarah and I are now working on a children’s version of The Mill on the Floss.
My passion is to popularise George Eliot, to make her accessible for a modern audience. I have only been able to do this because of the strength and encouragement I have received from the GEF. In its turn I have been privileged to serve the worldwide Fellowship as Vice Chair of the Council.
Born into a working class family in the heart of George Eliot country, it seemed unlikely that my passion for ponies and dogs would be realised.
A lifetime in farming has allowed me to develop my interests and gain a deep understanding of the communities George Eliot writes about; the people, the animals and the landscape. Because of this I am affectionately referred you as “our agricultural correspondent “ among the George Eliot Fellowship.
As my family are all from Nuneaton and its environs, I am fortunate to have several connections with George Eliot.
I have been a member of the GEF for many years and served on the Council for a time during the leadership of Kathleen and Bill Adams. After retiring from a career teaching English and Drama I was able to become more actively involved in the Fellowship and in 2016 I joined the Council once more.
My interest in drama, music and art has enabled me to contribute to the organisation of Fellowship events. Last year I commissioned acclaimed actor/historian Lesley Smith to write a one-woman show portraying the life of Mary Ann Evans. Lesley’s superb performance gave the audience an insight into the extraordinary woman behind the novels and was one of the highlights of the bicentenary. I am currently writing a workbook for children on Silas Marner to accompany Viv Wood’s wonderful adaptation of the novel.
I enjoy my work on the Council and it is a privilege to be constantly learning more about the life and work of this remarkable writer.
Nuneaton born and bred, I won a copy of Adam Bede as a prize for a junior school George Eliot project, and later wrote a dissertation for my English degree on the male protagonists in George Eliot’s major novels. My career in arts marketing took me all round the country until I returned to live in the Nuneaton area in the 1990s.
A few ago I went along to some Fellowship events, got chatting to John Burton, became enthused once more and was recruited to the Fellowship Council.
While literature was my first love and the main focus of my studies, Silas Marner was the only George Eliot work I had read until I moved to Warwickshire after travelling the world teaching English as a Foreign Language. I joined the Fellowship, read George Eliot’s other novels and discovered that ‘all human life is there’.
Readings of her work by Gabriel Woolf, more recently accompanied by Rosalind Shanks bringing to life the scenes and characters she remembered from childhood have been a not-to-be-missed experience as have Vivienne Wood’s adaptations of Eliot’s novels performed by local theatre company Sudden Impulse. Her words and stories create compelling theatre at venues indoors and out including the Edinburgh Fringe. Study days and lectures continually offer new perspectives on and increase my interest in this fascinating woman and her work. I love dipping into the Fellowship archive of many Eliot –related items, an exciting experience which will be available to all enthusiasts once the Visitor Centre is open.
A Council member for several years, I especially enjoy my role as lead volunteer gardener at George Eliot’s grave in Highgate Cemetery. Being there is always a delight it is such a tranquil and atmospheric place. It is also a privilege to meet visitors local and global who come to pay homage. We hear their stories and share information about Fellowship events and activities.
In February 2020, the 90th anniversary of the formation of the George Eliot Fellowship, I addressed the Antipodean George Eliot conference at the University of Sydney on the role of this very special Literary Society which promotes the work of the woman who is, I believe, our greatest novelist.
