Upcoming events

The launch of our Festival takes place at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery where it will be officially opened by Councillor Jeff Clarke, Mayor of Nuneaton & Bedworth. It will be followed by a presentation of readings from or about George Eliot by members of the Fellowship.

This is a free event, however as space is limited please book your place by calling the Museum on 024 7637 6158 or email

'Chrissey' by Valerie Fehlbaum

George Eliot was very fond of her older sister and distressed by the ill-fortune that dogged Chrissey throughout her married life. From ailing children to financial worries, despite her husband’s position as a doctor in Meriden, to a premature death at the time that her younger sister was becoming famous and rich.

Valerie was due to present her one woman dramatic presentation about Chrissey in October 2020 but due to travelling restriction bought about by covid the event was cancelled. The Fellowship is delighted that Valerie is  finally able to perform her one woman presentation.

 'Silas' by Geoff Graham

Geoff Graham has a passion for music which led him to create a one-man musical version of Silas Marner, the first performance of which took place at Griff House in April of this year. Geoff's musical will start at 8pm and finish at approximately 9pm

Refreshments will be available during the intermission between the 2 performances.

It has been almost three years since we were able to run a George Eliot Country Tour. We're thrilled to announce that Arbury Hall will be open along with their tea rooms. One of the places we will visit that is only accessible on our tour is South Farm, the birthplace of George Eliot.

This tour will begin at Chilvers Coton Heritage Centre before crossing the road to Chilvers Coton Church where George Eliot's father, mother and brother are buried. We will then spend 2 hours at Arbury including a tour of the Hall itself.After that we will make our way to Astley Church and finally Griff House where George Eliot until she was 21. A commemorative programme will give details of all the places we visit.

We recommend you wear sensible shoes and bring a packed lunch and drinks. Full details of itinerary will be sent when you book. Maximum number is 25.

'Coming to Conclusions in Middlemarch'

'International Communities of Collaboration: the George Eliot Archive'

Dr. Beverley Park Rilett, Associate Professor at Auburn University in Alabama, USA, and Vice-President of the GEF, will provide an overview of a growing trove of more than 5,000 documents, images, and born-digital subprojects collected and/or created by the George Eliot Archive and its sister-sites, the George Eliot Review Online journal collection and the George Eliot Scholars digital commons. These public humanities projects provide resources not only for academic researchers but for everyone curious about George Eliot. Join us as we review and celebrate the projects’ accomplishments over the first five years and plans for the decade ahead.

'Middlemarch: The Rosamond and Lydgate Story'

Gabriel Woolf has been a key part of the success of the Fellowship since 1969 when he did his first one man selection of readings from George Eliot at the invitation of Kathleen Adams, then newly installed as secretary of the Fellowship. This will be the 52nd year that Gabriel has produced his George Eliot readings for us.

In some small measure we were able to say thank you to Gabriel, for many years now accompanied by Rosalind Shanks, for those 50 years of dedicated love for and sharing of George Eliot, by inviting him to speak at the bicentenary event in Westminster Abbey in 2019 and by a special thank you presentation at the 2019 Readings, shown in the picture.

He and Rosalind have taken their readings all over the world, especially to America and we are thrilled that Gabriel and Rosalind are joining us again during our festival.

Lesley Smith is admired for her representations of strong and famous women. She does meticulous research and has wonderful, accurate costumes for women like Elizabeth l, Mary Queen of Scots, Boudicca, Ann Boleyn, Nell Gwynn and Margaret Thatcher.

The George Eliot Fellowship asked her before the bicentenary in 2019 if she would do George Eliot. Lesley started to research Eliot’s life and immersed herself in the novels and letters and the world premiere of her George Eliot, billed as ‘Meet the Woman’ took place in the Abbey Theatre in March 2019 before a capacity audience.

Lesley Smith has agreed to do another performance for us as part of the Middlemarch Festival and we are thrilled to welcome her back. Her George Eliot is now part of Lesley’s repertoire and we are thrilled to welcome her back to the theatre where it was first performed.

Tickets for this event are available online from TicketSource