New Grub Street
by George Gissing
For many readers, New Grub Street is Gissing's masterpiece. If this is not accepted, it remains undoubtedly one of his most interesting and powerful novels. As a realistic picture of literary late Victorian England, New Rough Street has few competitors. Gissing himself, his idealism, his pride, his impracticality, the study of a creative artist crushed by poverty in Edwin Reardon bear the stamp of bitter experiences. Of the other characters, the pedantic Alfred Jules, the humble scholar Biffen, the ambitious and worldly Jasper Milwain are still recognizable literary genres. New Grub Street is a dark and touching story that is cynical in its conclusions, but stems from its close observation and deep integrity, which is of lasting importance to the character and term students.
