Pattison, Mark (1813-1884)

Rector of Lincoln College in Oxford, Mark Pattison was a prominent intellectual figure. He and his wife, Emilia Frances Strong, were friends with both George Eliot and George Henry Lewes. Some biographical critics have seen parallels in Pattison's May-December marriage and the Casaubons' unhappy marriage in Eliot's novel, Middlemarch: Pattison wrote a book about a man named Isaac Casaubon and was 27 years older than his wife (the same age difference in Middlemarch).

George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org

Mark Pattison (1813-1884), Pattison, Mark (1813-1884), Social Network Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed November 11, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/97148