A life's morning

By George Gissing

1888

First Published

3.67

Average Rating

366

Number of Pages

11H10M

Audio Length

George Gissing was a late Victorian author. Between 1880 and 1903 Gissing wrote 23 novels. His early works were naturalistic and later he wrote in a realistic style. His works include New Grub Street, Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. Alfred Athel loves Greek. While attending Oxford he suffers a breakdown. An excerpt reads," So Miss Hood—Emily, as she was called by the little group of people away in Yorkshire, to whom she was other than a governess; Emily; as we will permit ourselves to call her henceforth—always had the meal of tea with the children. After that the evening was her own, save that the twins kept her company until their hour of bedtime. The school-room was also her sitting-room. After half-past eight in the evening she had it to herself, and there she passed many an hour of quiet content, playing softly on the piano, reading, dreaming."

Avg Rating

3.67

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

17%

4 STARS

44%

3 STARS

28%

2 STARS

11%

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

George Gissing

Author · 22 books

People best know British writer George Robert Gissing for his novels, such as New Grub Street (1891), about poverty and hardship. This English novelist who published twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era. Born to lower-middle-class parents, Gissing went to win a scholarship to Owens College, the present-day University of Manchester. A brilliant student, he excelled at university, winning many coveted prizes, including the Shakespeare prize in 1875. Between 1891 and 1897 (his so-called middle period) he produced his best works, which include New Grub Street, Born in Exile , The Odd Women , In the Year of Jubilee , and The Whirlpool . The middle years of the decade saw his reputation reach new heights: some critics count him alongside George Meredith and Thomas Hardy, the best novelists of his day. He also enjoyed new friendships with fellow writers such as Henry James, and H.G. Wells, and came into contact with many other up-and-coming writers such as Joseph Conrad and Stephen Crane.