George Gissing, New Grub Street

David Grylls (University of Oxford)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1891

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

New Grub Street was published in 1891 to generally favourable reviews. It was widely discussed, made Gissing's reputation, and remains his one acknowledged masterpiece. Yet Gissing did not profit from the book's success: needing money, he had sold the copyright for a hundred and fifty pounds. Ironically, the novel is a sustained, bitter study of the writer's plight in contemporary society. Set in late-Victorian fog-choked London, it depicts a degrading struggle for survival among those who seek to live by print. Its cast consists largely of novelists, journalists, editors, agents, and their family dependants. Its atmosphere is unrelievedly literary. It deals with the drudgery of research, the torments of fictional composition, …

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1833 words

Citation: Grylls, David. "New Grub Street". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 December 2002 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3264, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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