Which English novelist was a first class pianist, a friend of Liszt
and entertained the Wagners in 1877?

Dear goldenbowls-ga

The answer is George Eliot  (Mary Ann Evans(1819-1880)).

A biography of her life includes the following information "...the
education she received at Miss Franklin's school would help Mary Anne
become an excellent piano player."
http://www.whispersarchive.com/2000/jul00/jen.htm
Corroborated on:
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:Kunm-o_zwI8C:www.education.eth.net/literature/george_eliot/biography.htm+%22george+eliot%22+%22pianist%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

For her knowledge of and friendship with Liszt:
George Eliot (1902) by Leslie Stephen (1832-1904)
Refers to the visit to Germany by George Eliot. (1854 - 1855)
"....and George Eliot's intellectual horizon was no doubt widened by
intercourse with Rauch the sculptor, Liszt the musician...."
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/criticism/stephenl_geliot/geliot_ch3.html

For her meeting with Wagner I was unable to find it in her
biographies. However, in the biography of Sir Hubert Parry (composer):
it quotes from his diary May 1877: ‘….there was a goodly company of
artistic folk to meet Wagner who was in great fettle and talked to an
open-mouthed group in brilliant fashion’, and then when Wagner was
rehearsing his own music Parry wrote ‘sat with George Eliot and Madame
Wagner’.
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2002/Jun02/holes.htm

Please ask for clarification of this research, or if the links do not
work, before rating the answer.

answerfinder-ga

Started with a biography and timeline of Liszt which gave a mention of
George Eliot.
http://www.d-vista.com/OTHER/Liszttime2.html
Then:
"george eliot" wagner 1877
://www.google.com/search?q=%22george+eliot%22+wagner+1877&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
"george eliot" "piano player"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22george+eliot%22+%22piano+player%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N

Supplies sufficient backup infromation to reassure me that this is the
correct answer

Perhaps it was Count Gobineau? I could not find enough to prove
this... but hopefully another researcher will be able to help you.

tisme-ga

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, except that he died in 1873. His son was
Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton. Perhaps the biographies of the father and
son have been conflated?

hlabadie-ga