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Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 01 - Little Journeys to the Homes of Good Men and Great by Elbert Hubbard
page 39 of 261 (14%)
sympathetic insight of her work touched the hearts of great and lowly
alike, and of how riches began flowing in upon her. For one book she
received forty thousand dollars, and her income after fortune smiled upon
her was never less than ten thousand dollars a year.

Lewes was her secretary, her protector, her slave and her inspiration. He
kept at bay the public that would steal her time, and put out of her
reach, at her request, all reviews, good or bad, and shielded her from
the interviewer, the curiosity-seeker, and the greedy financier.

The reason why she at first wrote under a nom de plume is plain. To the
great, wallowing world she was neither Miss Evans nor Mrs. Lewes, so she
dropped both names as far as title-pages were concerned and used a man's
name instead--hoping better to elude the pack.

When "Adam Bede" came out, a resident of Nuneaton purchased a copy and at
once discovered local earmarks. The scenes described, the flowers, the
stone walls, the bridges, the barns, the people--all was Nuneaton. Who
wrote it? No one knew, but it was surely some one in Nuneaton. So they
picked out a Mr. Liggins, a solemn-faced preacher, who was always about
to do something great, and they said "Liggins." Soon all London said
"Liggins." As for Liggins, he looked wise and smiled knowingly. Then
articles began to appear in the periodicals purporting to have been
written by the author of "Adam Bede." A book came out called "Adam Bede,
Jr.," and to protect her publisher, the public and herself, George Eliot
had to reveal her identity.

Many men have written good books and never tasted fame; but few, like
Liggins of Nuneaton, have become famous by doing nothing. It only proves
that some things can be done as well as others. This breed of men has
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