Wit and Wisdom of George Eliot, with a Biographical Memoir.  Boston:  Roberts Brothers, 1882.  Print.

     

                    p. 7                             p. xxxi

(The "Middlemarch" selection of Wit and Wisdom includes pages 125 through 251; the above is a selected portion of that section.)

Commentary on the Text

Wit and Wisdom of George Eliot was originally published in 1774 by Roberts Brothers publishers in Boston, Massachusetts.  This version, published in 1882, two years after Eliot’s death, includes a “Biographical Memoir” inserted directly after the table of contents.  The more recent version also contains selections from Eliot’s Daniel Dironda, which was not yet published when the first of the Roberts Brothers versions was compiled.   

The book itself is physically charming, measuring at four inches wide by five and three quarter inches tall (4” x 5 ¾” x 1”) with a deep scarlet cover.  The title of the book stands alone engraved in gold leaf, with black, somewhat art-deco engravings around it.  The interior is papered with a green and cream floral pattern, with the pages are trimmed in a matching red. 
 

The quotations in the book are divided by each of Eliot’s works, and further divided by the character they pertain to.  In the “Middlemarch” section, there are quotes pertaining to Dorthea, Mrs. Cadwallader, Mr. Cadwallader, Lydgate, Mr. Farebrother, Will Ladislaw, Mary Garth, Caleb Garth, Celia, and Mr. Brooke.  Interestingly enough, the quotes in the book are not sourced; aside from being in the “Middlemarch” section of the book, there are no page numbers or editions referred to whatsoever.
 

It is worth noting the interesting variances in both writing style and information between this text and more contemporary editions used today.  In the “Biographical Memoir” of 1882, little was known to this American publisher about the author – the opening page reads as though Eliot was somewhat of an enigma to her readers prior to her death.  This is curiously followed by many pages of personal history of Eliot, from childhood until death.  That being said, it is still sparse in comparison to an introduction in any of today’s scholarly editions. The Oxford Classics edition of Middlemarch alone, for example, runs over thirty pages.  Modern introductions are filled with historical contexts and details of the authors’ lives, including analyses of characters, and comparisons to the authors’ actual life or other works.  Suffice to say, in the nineteenth and twentieth century, there is an insatiable thirst to know about an authors’ every last detail, no matter how personal.  This much about society has not changed.  
 

What is remarkable about this book is not so much the content, but what it represents.  Originally published in 1774, it was available for purchase within Eliot’s own lifetime.  Her work had reached an incredible level of importance even before her death.  It is a testament to Eliot’s prose that in novels of social commentary and provincial life she is able to weave in provoking, heartfelt, sharp, and lasting language.  Wit and Wisdom serves as a kind of Commonplace book; one needn’t have read all or even part of Eliot’s work to appreciate the quotations and words-to-live-by that the publisher has chosen.  The above pages represent a selection from the "Middlemarch" installment of the book; the quotes featured provide strong examples of Eliot's writing style; at times tender, at times wryly humorous.  

Works Consulted

Eliot, George.  Middlemarch.  Ed. David Carroll.  New York:  Oxford, 1998.  Print.

Wit and Wisdom of George Eliot.  Boston:  Roberts Brothers, 1874.  Web.  Google Books.  17 Oct 2011.   

Wit and Wisdom of George Eliot, with a Biographical Memoir.  Boston:  Roberts Brothers, 1882.  Print.

Project Completed:

Alison Spencer

Eastern Michigan University
Fall 2011