DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Title

Annual Report 2010

Authors

John Burton

Date of this Version

2011

Document Type

Article

Citation

The George Eliot Review 42 (2011)

Comments

Published by The George Eliot Review Online https://GeorgeEliotReview.org

Abstract

It is pleasing to report another successful year for the Fellowship, albeit with the occasional blip where we were perhaps over-ambitious in our plans: we had to cancel two of our George Eliot Country Tours. We lost a few members, either as a result of age and infirmity or the increase in our subscription rates, but we also gained new ones, and made many new contacts as a result of our activities through the year

I start with thanks to the Fellowship Council, strengthened at the AGM with new members; I am glad to report that our Council meetings are interesting, lively and full of suggestions for furthering the aims of the Fellowship. New Council members Elaine Peake, Pam Weight and Juliet Hopper are making great contributions and the rest of the Council, Joan Bunn, Jill Bridgewater, May Green, Viv Wood, Susan Healey and I are delighted that our meetings are so productive, and that there is a willingness to try new ideas and ways of reaching new audiences.

My second vote of thanks goes to our Vice-Presidents and President, who unfailingly give support and encouragement in all our activities. I know that you would wish me to thank especially John Rignall and Beryl Gray for the marvellous work they do in editing the Review, and to express my gratitude to the Annual Essay Prize panel of judges. Rosemary Ashton, Giles Foster, Kathryn Hughes and Gabriel Woolf have all supported us as speakers in the last year and we are greatly indebted to them that in their busy professional lives they nevertheless find time to travel to Nuneaton and present sparkling performances for our members and guests.

The theme for the year was The Mill on the Floss and we arranged a rich variety of Mill-related activities for our members. We are also attracting an increasing number of non-members to our events, and since they pay more than members we are always glad to see them! The George Eliot Weekend in May was well attended and enjoyed by all. The Saturday included four papers, by Dr Marilyn Orr from Laurentian University, Ontario on The Mill on the Floss and the 1860s; Brenda Maddox then described how she researched and produced her latest book on George Eliot, published in 2009; after a buffet lunch at Bedworth Civic Hall we heard from Dr Melissa Raines from the University of Liverpool on 'Strains of Solemn Music' in The Mill on the Floss; and the day ended with a fascinating combination of personal and critical analysis of Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead, a staff writer on The New Yorker.