Journalists at George Eliot's Priory: Busy Editors, Writing Women, and the Founding of Mind

The unpublished journals of George Henry Lewes challenge the conventional view that gatherings at the Priory were either dull or scandalous. Not only did the Leweses welcome a large number of women guests, provide entertainment by talented singers, and entertain many important Victorians, but they also provided a convenient networking space for editors, authors, and reviewers. Editors Leslie Stephen and James Thomas Knowles used the Priory gatherings to advance their projects, while Mathilda Betham-Edwards demonstrated how a woman author could add to her journalistic credits through contacts formed at the Priory. Finally, a number of regular visitors, including founding editor George Croom Robertson, contributed to the launch of the periodical Mind: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy.