It's interesting that Mrs. Eliot mentioned so many things that we still see today. Looks like good reviews on bad works predate the internet! And she even discussed how Sues undermine views of equality for women, something we've argued as a community before.

I wonder, what would they think of the PPC? Hmmm....
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George Elliot: You're work is good and all, but why restrict yourself to fanfiction? There are plenty of silly characters, or "Mary Sue's" as you call them, that deserve to be killed on the bookshelves.

SO: I understand, however we protect canon continuum, even is they have Canon!Sue's. Bad fanfiction damages those continuum, where bad writing just hurts our minds.

Mark Twain: Your point? If the writing is bad, then it should be shown for what it is, not allowed leniency for their crimes on the english language and reader's intelligence.

SO: I understand your position, but we have rules, restrictions. What is to stop an agent from 'fixing' worlds that are not too broken in the first place? If there is an element they do not like, and they have the option of killing it, agents will take it.

George Eliot: I understand. Still, there must be something we can do to these bad stories...

Crow: Hey, Mr. Sunflower Face, we got a MST coming up with a really bad original story, wanna join in the torture?

SO: My name is the Sunflower Official, and I have far too much to do to snark a bad piece of writing in a theater with you three.

Crow: Meh, suit yourself Sunny Days.

SO (gritting the teeth he does not have): Sunflower. Official.

Crow: Whatever. Say, you two look important, wanna join us?

Mark Twain: What is this MST you speak of?

Crow as the three walk out of the SO's office: Oh, it's simple. Basically, you find a really bad piece of dreck, be it a movie, book, fanfic...

SO: *sigh* And I thought agents were bad. At least you can punish them for waisting your time, unlike authors.
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Hmmm, methinks someone now needs to make an MST with George Eliot, Mark Twain, and the folks at the Satellite of Love. That someone should probably not be me.

If anyone here ever invents a time machine, their first stop should be to pick up George Eliot and Mark Twain and convince them to write for the PPC. What awesome agents and missions they would write!

I love how she touches on things that are relevant to PPCers today. She lists types of characters that we see today: Saintly!Sue, Princess!Sue (though she probably would call it Heiress!Sue), Brainy!Sue, and more. She discusses the "drivel" that is urple prose, and provides some amusing examples.
What really spoke to me was how she says that all female writers are looked upon as having the same intelligence as those who write the Sues, and I know that some people think all fanfiction writers are Suethors. She talks about how people give great reviews to those horribly written books, and I'm sure we've all seen the Suefic with hundreds of glowing reviews, and maybe one or two people saying that the character might be a Sue.
Awesome find, Lily!

I find myself shedding many Single (wo)Manly Tears. :'D