Showing results by author "George Gissing" in All Categories

This introspective novel presents a selection from the diary of an author reflecting on life after his retirement and leading up to his final days. While it lacks a traditional plot, it offers a rich tapestry of contemplations on art, nature, society, and the essence of living well. The narrators experiences resonate deeply with those of the author, George Gissing, prompting many readers to see it as a semi-autobiographical work. Join us for a journey through quiet musings that illuminate the beauty of existence. - Summary by Peter Eastman

The young Monica Madden cries for two days before her marriage to Edmund Widdowson; the ensuing claustrophobia, which opens the door for the more desirable Bevis, contrasts with Rhoda's independence - yet Rhoda's own principles are tested when she falls in love rather by accident.... The Odd Women is a remarkable book, ultimately optimistic in its hope for a societal shift that will benefit both men and women alike.

Set in the literary and journalistic buzz of late 19th-century London, New Grub Street depicts a world that George Gissing knew inside out. Elements of his own experience are diffused in different characters – in particular the struggling, talented Edwin Reardon and the young, "modern" Jasper Milvain – through which he explores the sense of crisis for writers at the time: the gulf between aesthetic integrity and commercial success. It was the first major novel to place the concept of authorship at the heart of the plot.

New Grub Street (1891) has the reputation of being George Gissing's finest novel. With bitter humour and grim realism, it tells the story of the ambitions, dreams, and disappointments of men and women struggling to earn their living as writers in the closing years of the Victorian era. Jasper Milvain is a young writer of limited talent, eager to exploit every opportunity and social connection in order to make his way. For those who toil "in the valley of the shadow of books" the spectre of poverty looms large.

George Gissing’s 1893 gripping novel The Odd Women explores themes like the role of women in society, marriage, morals, and the nascent feminist movement. Set in London, Gissing's women range from the independent free-thinker Rhoda Nunn and the idealistic Mary Barfoot to the Madden sisters who struggle to make a living. The characters make their choices - some traditional and some bravely non-traditional, in two main plot lines. A remarkable late Victorian narrative, The Odd Women chronicles the shifting roles of women in a changing society in a most arresting way.

Old Michael Snowdon returns to London with an inheritance that he determines should go towards helping the poor—but goodness and charity are not to play a part here. Everyone has an agenda, and scheming spreads through the story like a disease. Gissing’s own experience of London as an outsider in a vast city that both fascinated and appalled him gave him the tools and the drive to create a visceral sense of place. Life is unremittingly grim for just about everyone, from the weak and well-intentioned Jane to the coarse, cunning Clem Peckover and her feckless rival Pennyloaf Candy.

First published in 1893, ‘The Odd Women’ by Victorian author George Gissing revolves around the themes of feminism, marriage, and love through the lives of several contrasting women. The ‘odd’ of the title refers to the fact that in Victorian Britain there were more men than women, and many women therefore found themselves surplus. Mary Barfoot is one of these surplus women - a feminist philanthropist, she is training women to have careers of their own.

The Jubilee marks the fiftieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. Dickensian in its sweeping scope of London life, Gissing’s "In the Year of the Jubilee" (1834) depicts the harsh and disreputable conditions of lower-middle class life at the end of the 19th century. Originally titled "Miss Lord of Camberwell," the novel depicts the adventures of suburban Nancy Lord and an exploration of South London.

Book 1: Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë from 1847. Book 2: Little Women is a novel by Louisa May Alcott who was also an abolitionist and a feminist. Book 3: The Odd Women is an 1893 novel by the English novelist George Gissing. Book 4: Anna Howard Shaw (1847-1919) was a leader in the campaign for women’s suffrage. Book 5: Sojourner Truth’s autobiographical Narrative chronicles her life as a slave, and her transformation into an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, orator, and preacher. Book 6: "The Crisis" is a speech....

The story deals with the literary world that Gissing himself had experienced. Its title refers to the London street, Grub Street, which in the 18th century became synonymous with hack literature; by Gissing's time, Grub Street itself no longer existed, though hack-writing certainly did. Its two central characters are a sharply contrasted pair of writers: Edwin Reardon, a novelist of some talent but limited commercial prospects, and a shy, cerebral man; and Jasper Milvain, a young journalist, hard-working and capable of generosity.

One of the greatest novels to have come from the 19th century, a realistic, gritty exposure of the lives, loves, intrigue and rivalry that existed in the literary world of London. The art form and culture of writing is becoming a business, expanding rapidly, and profit is more important than integrity of purpose.

Eve's Ransom, written in 1895, is the story of a bizarre triangle of love. An educated but unsuccessful man, Hilliard, is trapped in grimy Birmingham until he receives a totally unexpected windfall. He goes in search of a woman whose picture he had seen in his landlady's photo album. Typical of most of Gissings books the setting is autobiographically faithful and the theme is freedom. The writing is crisp, the narrative swift in this, as H. G. Wells said, "the best and least appreciated of his novels".

A glittering collection of classic short stories. 1. "The Hoop" by Fedor Sologub; 2. "Miracles" by Barry Pain; 3. "In a Far-off World" by Olive Schreiner; 4. "The House of Cobwebs" by George Gissing; 5. "A Dream of Wild Bees" by Olive Schreiner; 6. "A Very Black Business" by Ernest Bramah; 7. "The Missing Years" by Barry Pain; 8. "The Pig and Whistle" by George Gissing; 9. "A Soothing Dream" by Fedor Sologub; 10. "Life’s Gifts" by Olive Schreiner...and many more.

A poor schoolteacher decides to spend the summer vacation at a remote country inn, where he falls gradually in love with not only the tavern's way of life, but also the landlord's daughter, the lovely Miss Fouracres. Meanwhile the landlord is sinking into drink and despair, driven by his obsession over an incident at a hotel he ran several years ago. An incident which now threatens to raise its ugly head again....

George Robert Gissing (1857-1903) was a popular English novelist and short story writer who also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. His works often reflect the struggle for existence in a hostile world and the many (often tragic) compromises which are made along the way. In this setting his often complex and endearing characters battle for their own love or artistic integrity, which poverty or social morals threaten to stifle.

George Robert Gissing (1857-1903) was a popular English novelist and short story writer who also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. The Salt of the Earth is the poignant story of an overly kind-hearted, generous and devoted clerk whose good nature and lack of self assertion invites the exploitation of all around him.

George Robert Gissing (1857-1903) was a popular English novelist and short-story writer who also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. The Scrupulous Father is an unusual love story set in the world of stifling Victorian propriety. Rose, the only daughter of the highly respectable and class obsessed Mr. Wiston, is drawn to a young, redheaded clerk at an inn while she is on holiday. The young man is outgoing, cheerful, and free of all the petty rules and inhibitions which dominate her own life.

A wonderful collection of great classic love stories for the incurable romantic in all of us. "The Scrupulous Father" by George Gissing, "The Marquise" by George Sand, "Her Lover" by Maxim Gorky, "A Long-Ago Affair" by John Galsworthy, "A Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield, "Portrait of a Lady" by Jerome K. Jerome, "The Pig and Whistle" by George Gissing, "A Race for a Bride" by H. K. Hales, "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Girl Who Was Tired of Love" by Leonard Merrick...

George Robert Gissing (1857–1903) was a popular English novelist and short story writer who also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. Humplebee tells the tale of a young man of the same name who, in his youth, saves the life of his schoolfellow, Leonard Chadwick, who falls through thin ice on a winter pond.

The golden age of the short story was in Victorian and Edwardian times, when authors made a living by contributing to literary magazines and journals. These popular journals threw up such literary greats as Dickens, Conan Doyle, Rider Haggard, and Jerome K. Jerome. Many of the great writers are undeservedly neglected by modern audience...but what a pleasure it is to rediscover the literary treasures that delighted our great grandparents!