“A man carries within him the germ of his most exceptional action; and if we wise people make eminent fools of ourselves on any particular occasion, we must endure the legitimate conclusion that we carry a few grains of folly to our ounce of wisdom.”

English novelist, poet, journalist, and translator, Victorian era

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, an English novelist, poet, journalist, and translator of the Victorian era. She was one of the leading writers of her time. She wrote seven novels, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, the Radical, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda. Her fiction is known for realism, psychological depth, a strong sense of place, and close attention to the countryside.