George Gissing

Robert L. Selig provides the first book-length study to survey the totality of Gissing's contributions in light of the fertile biographical and critical material emerging in recent years. Arguing that Gissing is a distinguished figure in English realism, a writer who depicts intelligent, sensitive people in constricted social situations, Selig remarks that "to understand Gissing's place in English literature, one must also understand the culture upon which he focused his books." This cultural perspective informs each section of the study: a biographical portrait shedding new light on Gissing's troubled, often controversial life; eight chronologically arranged chapters exploring all of Gissing's works, including the much-neglected short fiction; and a concluding chapter delivering fresh interpretations of the large body of scholarship devoted to Gissing, including the response from feminist critics.