George Eliot in Wiltshire: from Lacock to Bowood to the Beaufort Hunt
Wednesday, 08 November, 2006

American Professor of English, Kathleen McCormack, will be presenting a lecture ‘George Eliot: from Lacock to Bowood to the Beaufort Hunt’ at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum on Sunday 19 November at 2.30pm. Tickets cost £3.00 in advance (£3.50 on the day) and are available from the Museum shop. This is the first time a lecture has been arranged for a Sunday afternoon and it is hoped it will appeal to local people who are busy during the week.

George Eliot was a successful author who scandalised Victorian society by openly living with a married man, George Henry Lewes. Her novels included Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda and this latter novel was written after two visits to Wiltshire in 1874. She stayed at Sandcliffe House, Northgate Street and The Bear Hotel both in Devizes, Lacock, Bowood, Corsham Court, Spye Park and Avebury amongst others.

This lecture is taken from Kathleen McCormack’s recent book George Eliot’s English Travels: Composite Characters and Coded Communications, and focuses on George Eliot’s travels in Wiltshire and how these re-appeared in her novels, particularly Daniel Deronda. There will be an opportunity to talk to Professor McCormack after the lecture.

Rick Rowland, who has organised this lecture at the Museum, said “We are particularly fortunate that Professor McCormack is making the time to visit Devizes to give this talk about George Eliot's travels through Wiltshire. She has established herself on both sides of the Atlantic as an expert on George Eliot. This talk will be of interest to anyone curious about Eliot's visits to Victorian Devizes as well those who want to learn more about a great British novelist.”

Tickets are on sale in the Museum shop at £3.00 each, contact 01380 727369. Tickets can also be purchased on the day at £3.50.
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