Final answer:
George Eliot published her first work of fiction, 'Scenes of Clerical Life,' in Blackwood's Magazine in 1857, with encouragement from George Henry Lewes.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1857, at the encouragement of George Henry Lewes, Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, published her first work of fiction, 'Scenes of Clerical Life,' in Blackwood's Magazine. Lewes played a significant role in Eliot's professional life, providing the encouragement she needed to pursue her literary career. This initial publication marked the beginning of Eliot's distinguished career as a novelist and writer, leading to such masterpieces as 'Middlemarch' and 'Silas Marner'.