Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)

Authors, English -- Biography; Women authors, English -- Biography

In the course of the year 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Lewes moved from 16
Blandford Square to the Priory, a commodious house in North Bank, St.
John’s Wood, which has come to be intimately associated with the memory
of George Eliot. Here in the pleasant dwelling-rooms decorated by Owen
Jones might be met, at her Sunday afternoon receptions, some of the
most eminent men in literature, art and science. For the rest, her
life flowed on its even tenor, its routine being rigidly regulated.
The morning till lunch time was invariably devoted to writing; in the
afternoon she either went out for a quiet drive of about two hours, or
she took a walk with Lewes in Regent’s Park. There the strange-looking
couple--she with a certain weird, sibylline air, he not unlike some
unkempt Polish refugee of vivacious manners--might be seen, swinging
their arms as they hurried along at a pace as rapid and eager as
their talk. Besides these walks, George Eliot’s chief recreation
consisted in frequenting concerts and picture galleries. To music she
was passionately devoted, hardly ever failing to attend the Saturday
afternoon concerts at St. James’ Hall, besides frequenting various
musical reunions.

MATHILDE BLIND: ‘George Eliot.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: A retired life.]

Perhaps no one filling a large portion of the thoughts of the public in
two hemispheres has ever been so little known to the public at large.
Always in delicate health, always living a student life, caring little
for what is called general society, though taking a genial delight in
that of her chosen friends, she very seldom appeared in public. She
went to the houses of but a few, finding it less fatiguing to see her
friends at home. Those who knew her by sight beyond her own immediate
circle did so from seeing her take her quiet drives in Regent’s Park
and the northern slopes of London, or from her attendance at those
concerts where the best music of the day was to be heard.

C. KEGAN PAUL: ‘George Eliot.’ _Harper’s Magazine_, May, 1881.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Visits to the Zoological Gardens.]

[Sidenote: Interest in animals.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)

Authors, English -- Biography; Women authors, English -- Biography

In the course of the year 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Lewes moved from 16
Blandford Square to the Priory, a commodious house in North Bank, St.
John’s Wood, which has come to be intimately associated with the memory
of George Eliot. Here in the pleasant dwelling-rooms decorated by Owen
Jones might be met, at her Sunday afternoon receptions, some of the
most eminent men in literature, art and science. For the rest, her
life flowed on its even tenor, its routine being rigidly regulated.
The morning till lunch time was invariably devoted to writing; in the
afternoon she either went out for a quiet drive of about two hours, or
she took a walk with Lewes in Regent’s Park. There the strange-looking
couple--she with a certain weird, sibylline air, he not unlike some
unkempt Polish refugee of vivacious manners--might be seen, swinging
their arms as they hurried along at a pace as rapid and eager as
their talk. Besides these walks, George Eliot’s chief recreation
consisted in frequenting concerts and picture galleries. To music she
was passionately devoted, hardly ever failing to attend the Saturday
afternoon concerts at St. James’ Hall, besides frequenting various
musical reunions.

MATHILDE BLIND: ‘George Eliot.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: A retired life.]

Perhaps no one filling a large portion of the thoughts of the public in
two hemispheres has ever been so little known to the public at large.
Always in delicate health, always living a student life, caring little
for what is called general society, though taking a genial delight in
that of her chosen friends, she very seldom appeared in public. She
went to the houses of but a few, finding it less fatiguing to see her
friends at home. Those who knew her by sight beyond her own immediate
circle did so from seeing her take her quiet drives in Regent’s Park
and the northern slopes of London, or from her attendance at those
concerts where the best music of the day was to be heard.

C. KEGAN PAUL: ‘George Eliot.’ _Harper’s Magazine_, May, 1881.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Visits to the Zoological Gardens.]

[Sidenote: Interest in animals.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 2 (of 2)

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