It’s the birthday of two writers who are best known today for their more famous writing partners: George Henry Lewes (1817-1878), partner to Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot; and Helen Joy Davidman (1915-1960), wife of C.S. Lewis.

Lewes was born in London, educated rather indifferently, and became an important critic of literature and drama; he gave Jane Eyre two thumbs up and identified the striking realism in the novel. (Good call, Lewes.) His critical writing was informed by his long-standing interest in philosophy. Lewes wrote a couple of novels, now forgotten, and wrote the still-respected Life of Goethe (1855), perhaps his best-known work. Lewes dabbled in science as well, specifically biology; he wrote Seaside Studies (1858), Physiology of Common Life (1859), and like that. He put forth some decent scientific ideas in spite of no technical training.

Lewes had married Agnes Jervis in 1841 and had an open marriage—wide, WIDE open—so while they had children of their own, Jervis also had children with Lewes’ friend Thornton Leigh Hunt. Lewes claimed at least one of these children as his own even though he knew better, and this prevented them from divorcing later since it proved him complicit to the adultery. Lewes met George Eliot, the two fell in love, and from 1854 on they lived happily together until Lewes’ death, although Eliot was possibly less than super generous regarding Lewes’ sons. Lewes encouraged Eliot’s writing and she became one of the greatest English writers of her century.

Davidman was born in New York City to middle class Jewish parents and was an intellectual prodigy, graduating from high school at 14 and from Hunter College at 19, and earning a master’s from Columbia in three semesters. She devoted herself to writing and editing and also joined the Communist Party, where she met her first husband, William Lindsay Gresham, with whom she had two sons. The marriage had problems, and Davidman, formerly an atheist, began to seek God, eventually reading some Christian apologetics by C.S. Lewis. She started writing to Lewis in January of 1950, traveled to England to meet him in 1952, and in 1956 the two married in a civil ceremony so that Davidman could remain in England. (By then she was divorced.) They did not live together as husband and wife until Davidman was found to have advanced cancer, at which point a priest married them. Davidman went into remission and the two were happy, well-matched companions, but the cancer returned in 1960 and Davidman died soon after. They had supported one another’s writing: Lewis helped Davidman with Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments (1954), and Davidman helped with Lewis’ final novel, Till We Have Faces (1956), affected his writing of The Four Loves (1960), and inspired A Grief Observed (1961).

Have a solid, workmanlike Wednesday and stay scrupulously honest to the data.