 One of Smith's most ambitious projects was the "Dictionary of National Biography", which covered notable British figures up to its day in 63 volumes published from 1885 to 1900.George Smith is widely acknowledged to have inspired the character of Graham Bretton in Charlotte Brontë's novel "Villette" (as he himself believed).From 1890 until his death, Smith lived at Somerset House, in Park Lane, having bought the lease from Lady Hermione Graham, a daughter of the twelfth Duke of Somerset.