George Eliot Statue

General information

The George Eliot Fellowship was founded by Mr A F Cross on 9 November 1930. Mr Cross was the editor of the Nuneaton Chronicle newspaper and had been campaigning for some 25 years for a memorial to George Eliot in her native town, Nuneaton. During the summer of 1930 Mr Cross handed over the Editorial chair of the Nuneaton Chronicle to a Cambridge undergraduate. The undergraduate in turn managed to elicit contributions from eminent literary men of the day such as George Bernard Shaw by asking them the question, "Should Nuneaton erect a memorial to George Eliot? If so, what form should it take?" The majority of the writers he approached were surprised that a memorial did not already exist.
Mr Cross concluded that Nuneaton's apathy should be allowed to continue no longer. He was certain that corporate action was now more important than individual effort and that the formation of a literacy society was the answer. The title of fellowship as opposed to society was a personal choice of Mr Cross, as he felt it to be most suited to admirers of a woman who still had a message for present and future generations.
At about the same time, correspondence arose in the London Press about George Eliot's work and mention was made about the possibility of a George Eliot Society being formed. As a result letters began to arrive at the Nuneaton Chronicle from all over England from people eager for more information. Mr Cross needed no more encouragement, and a preliminary meeting was held in the Council Chamber in Nuneaton in October 1930. The idea of a Fellowship was accepted and Miss Elizabeth Haldane, a distinguished early biographer of George Eliot was elected as the first President. Plans were made for a dinner to be held on George Eliot's birthday at the Newdegate Arms. The principal guest was Mr J Lewis and it was he who proposed the toast to the Immortal Memory of George Eliot. A week after the dinner a notice appeared in the Nuneaton Chronicle about a meeting to elect officers. At the meeting, held on 15 January 1931 officers were elected, Mr Cross was to be Chairman, and members of the Council included Mr S Pratt, Mr J Benfell, Councillor G Taylor and Miss K Grant.
Nowadays more than 80 years later the Fellowship continues to honour George Eliot and to promote interest in her life and works. It's a forum for those who admire her writing, and for those who wish to learn more and has over 500 members both in the UK and overseas.