George Eliot

Adam Bede illustrated George Eliot

Mary Ann Evans was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. She was the third child of Robert Evans (1773-1849) and Christiana Evans (née Pearson, 1788-1836), the daughter of a local mill-owner. Mary Ann's name was sometimes shortened to Marian. Her full siblings were Christiana, known as Chrissey (1814-59), Isaac (1816-1890), and twin brothers who died a few days after birth in March 1821. She also had a half-brother, Robert (1802-64), and half-sister, Fanny (1805-82), from her father's previous marriage to Harriet Poynton (1780-1809).