Abstract
The publication of The Mill on the Floss in 1860 consolidated George Eliot’s reputation as a novelist and the 1860s would be a period of sustained experiment for her. Contemporary critics generally maintained that George Eliot’s achievements as a novelist set her apart from more popular authors, both women and men. This chapter discusses her reading particularly of novels by other women, in order to show that during the 1860s her adherence to the realist position of the 1850s is tempered by engagement with themes and topics more usually associated with the sensation novel.
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Harris, M. (2020). A Decade of Experiment: George Eliot in the 1860s. In: Gavin, A., de la L. Oulton, C. (eds) British Women's Writing from Brontë to Bloomsbury, Volume 2. British Women’s Writing from Brontë to Bloomsbury, 1840-1940, vol 2. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38528-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38528-6_2
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