Marine Terrace, Seaford, E. Sussex, in 1860. Source: Ellis, facing p. 86. Here Meredith stayed near his friends Maurice and Gerald Fitzgerald for periods of 1856-58, at first enjoyably with his first wife Mary Ellen (see Pulford 24), but later alone when this first marriage was in trouble, and then in 1863 as well. "Here he wrote Farina and part of Richard Feverel" (Ellis caption). The latter information is significant because Adrian Hartley in the novel is generally thought to be based on the erudite epicurean Maurice Fitzgerald.
Marine Terrace today.
As S. M. Ellis points out, the house is described in his novella "The House on the Beach," which he was writing in 1861 (see Jones 109) though it was only completed in 1877. But it is seen in a jaundiced light there. The row called "Marine Parade" shades "sickly eyes, under a worn green verandah, from a sun that rarely appeared" (9). Probably this reflected his mood at that time more than anything else. It certainly sports a pleasant frontage here.
Modern photograph by Tim Willasey-Wilsey. Image scan and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer or person who scanned the image, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one. [Click on the images for larger pictures.]
References
Ellis, S. M. George Meredith: His life and Friends in Relation to his Work. London: Grant Richards, 1920. Internet Archive. Contributed by Robarts Library, University of Toronto. Web. 11 December 2015.
Jones, Mervyn. The Amazing Victorian. London: Constable, 1999.
Meredith, George. "The House on the Beach." In Works, Vol. XXII. New York: Scribner's, 1909. 3-107. Internet Archive. Contributed by Cornell University Library. Web. 15 December 2015.
Pulford, J. S. L. George and Mary Meredith in Weybridge, Shepperton & Esher, 1849-61. Walton & Weybridge Local History Society, 1989.
Created 12 December 2015