Nuneaton is the largest town in the English county of Warwickshire Warwickshire, and the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth. Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for much of her early life. In fiction, Nuneaton is referred to as "Milby" in the George Eliot novel Scenes of Clerical Life (1858).

The town is located 14.5 km (9 miles) north of Coventry, 32 km (20 miles) east of Birmingham and 166 km (103 miles) northwest of London. The River Anker runs through the town and is subject to flooding during lengthy spells of heavy rain. Nuneaton had a population of 70,721 (2001 census), though the 2008 estimate is closer to 73,000 inhabitants. Towns close to Nuneaton include Bedworth, Atherstone and Hinckley with the towns Tamworth, Lutterworth and city of Leicester further afield. Motorists entering Nuneaton from the west in the Tuttle Hill area are afforded dramatic views of the town and countryside, and on a clear day the visibility can stretch for miles around.

Nuneaton's name came from a 12th century Benedictine nunnery (parts of which still survive) from which much of the town grew around. Prior to this it was a settlement known as 'Etone', which translates literally as 'water-town'. Nuneaton was listed in the Domesday Book as a small hamlet .A market was established in 1233 (and is still held today). The first recorded use of the modern name was in 1247 when a document recorded it as 'Nonne Eton'. The Nunnery fell into disrepair after 1539 (with Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries). Nuneaton's only Grammar School (which would later become a sixth form college), King Edward VI Grammar School, was established by a royal charter in 1552.

Nuneaton grew gradually from the 17th century onwards, due to its position at the centre of the Warwickshire coalfields. At the time of the first national census in 1801 Nuneaton was already one of the largest towns in Warwickshire, with a population of 5,000 . During the Industrial revolution in the 19th century, Nuneaton developed a large textile industry. Other industries which developed in the town included brick and tile making and brewing. By 1901 the population of Nuneaton had grown to 25,000.

Nuneaton became an urban district in 1894. And was upgraded to the status of a municipal borough in 1907.

Due largely to munitions factories located in Nuneaton, the town suffered heavy bombing damage during World War II. The heaviest bombing raid on Nuneaton took place on 17 May 1941, when 100 people were killed, 380 houses were destroyed, and over 10,000 damaged , a few smaller raids took place on the town, most notably on the 25 June 1942. As a result of the bombing, much of the town centre was re-built in the post war years.

On 6 June 1975, six people died and 38 were injured when a train crashed just south of Nuneaton railway station.

Nuneaton's traditional industries like textiles and manufacturing have declined drastically in the postwar years. Due to its good transport links, Nuneaton is now largely a commuter town for nearby Coventry and Birmingham. However electronics and distribution remain major economic activities in the town. MIRA Limited, formerly the Motor Industry Research Association, is based on a disused wartime airfield on the A5, to the north of the town. One of the biggest developments in the town's history, the multi-million pound Ropewalk Shopping Centre, opened on 1 September 2005 in the hope that it will give the town extra income from the shopping, attract more visitors and retailers, and steer shoppers away from larger retail centres such as Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Solihull. The town centre itself has undergone a successful transition from being an uninteresting 'dormitory town' service centre in the 1980s to a relatively thriving and well-planned retail and business district by the 2000s.

• Nuneaton enters annually the Britain in Bloom competition and in 2000, Nuneaton and Bedworth was a national finalist.
• Nuneaton is home to the largest Carnival in Warwickshire which takes place every June - see www.NuneatonCarnival.org
• Nuneaton was home to the smallest independent newspaper in Britain ( The Heartland Evening News ) until it was purchased in 2006 by Illiffe News & Media
• Many locations in George Eliot's works were based on places in or near her native Nuneaton, e.g.:
  • Milby (town and parish church, based on Nuneaton and St Nicolas parish church)
  • Shepperton (based on Chilvers Coton)
  • Paddiford Common (based on Stockingford, which at the time had a large area of common land)
  • Knebley (based on Astley; Knebley Church is Astley Church, while Knebley Abbey is Astley Castle)
  • Red Deeps (based on Griff Hollows)
  • Cheverel Manor (based on Arbury Hall)
  • Dorlcote Mill (based on Griff House)
  • The Red Lion (based on the Bull Hotel, now the George Eliot Hotel in Bridge Street, Nuneaton)
  • Middlemarch (based on Coventry)
  • Treby Magna (also thought to be based on Coventry)
  • Little Treby (thought to be based on Stoneleigh)
  • Transome Court (thought to be based on Stoneleigh Abbey)