New Grub Street by George Gissing
"New Grub Street" is a novel by George Gissing, published in 1891, that explores the literary world of late Victorian London through the struggles of its characters, particularly the young writer Jasper Milvain. The narrative follows Milvain's ambition to succeed in journalism and his complicated relationships with fellow writers, including the disillusioned Edwin Reardon and the experienced Alfred Yule. Central to the story is the theme of the conflict between artistic integrity and the demands of the commercial literary market, as characters navigate their personal aspirations against the harsh realities of financial instability and societal expectations.
Milvain’s pragmatic view of money's role in achieving literary success contrasts sharply with Reardon's scruples about producing marketable work, leading to significant emotional turmoil. Gissing delves into issues of class consciousness, creativity, and the impact of poverty on personal relationships, particularly through the lens of romance and marriage. The novel portrays the characters' struggles not only with their writing careers but also with their identities and relationships within a competitive and often unforgiving literary landscape. Overall, "New Grub Street" offers a critical examination of the Victorian literary milieu, making it a poignant reflection on the intersection of art, commerce, and personal ambition.
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New Grub Street by George Gissing
First published: 1891
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism and naturalism
Time of plot: 1880’s
Locale: London
Principal characters
Edwin Reardon , a failed novelistAmy Reardon , his increasingly dissatisfied wifeJasper Milvain , an ambitious journalistAlfred Yule , an embittered man of lettersMarian Yule , his daughterHarold Biffen , a dedicated and starving novelist
The Story:
Jasper Milvain is an ambitious young writer trying to establish himself as a journalist in London. During a stay with his mother and sisters in the country, he meets Alfred Yule, an experienced and disappointed man of letters, and his daughter, Marian, to whom Milvain finds himself troublingly attracted—troublingly because she is poor and because Milvain has already decided he must marry a woman who can help him in his career. With engaging frankness, Milvain explains to her his ideas about the importance of money in a literary life: It can buy the all-important first success as well as influential friends.
London novelist Edwin Reardon has won modest success with his fourth novel. At this hopeful stage of his life, he also meets Amy Yule, a cousin of Marian, and falls in love with her. Under the impression that he will become a novelist of some distinction, Amy accepts his proposal of marriage. Now, the painfully scrupulous Edwin, who disdains the literary marketplace, finds that he can no longer write work with which he is satisfied; he also comes to realize that he suffers agony even in his attempt to produce marketable copy.
The Reardons are running short of money. The burgeoning reputation of Milvain, a friend of the family, points up the contrast between his energy and cheerful cynicism on one hand, and Reardon’s ineffectual weakness and self-pity on the other.
Alfred Yule has experienced literary struggles at well. As a writer, he has been sincere, and he is by no means untalented, but his old-fashioned ideas about literature, combined with his awkward integrity and lack of tact, have hindered his advance. He is noticeably ashamed of his marriage to a woman from the working class who displays uneducated speech and manners, so he avoids entertaining publishers and critics. Alfred’s frustration vents itself in occasional harshness that disturbs the family’s peace.
Meanwhile, Reardon continues to find himself unable to produce anything but paltry work, of which he is ashamed. One Sunday, he is visited by his friend Harold Biffen, whose ambition is to write an utterly faithful account of “the ignobly decent life” of lower-class Londoners, a necessarily boring book that will eschew melodramatic or tragic incident. To this work Biffen is fiercely committed. He makes a poor living by private tutoring, but is often short of food and must sometimes pawn his clothes. Despite the dire conditions of their lives, the two men discuss meter in Greek drama with disinterested enthusiasm.
Reality intrudes on Reardon’s life again when his publishers offer very modest terms for the novel he has finally—in anguish—completed. His next novel is rejected outright. He decides he must act in a firm and manly way. He gets back his old job as a clerk but insists that he and his wife take less fashionable lodgings, which alienates Amy. Unable to accept this public fall in status, she moves back to the house of her mother and brother, taking her and Edwin’s little son, Willie, with her.
Marian inherits a legacy of five thousand pounds at the death of an uncle, and Milvain, although he would have preferred a larger sum, feels he can now give in to his feelings for Marian. He proposes marriage. Attracted by his energy and hopefulness, Marian has fallen in love with him and accepts his proposal, but her legacy fails to materialize because of the failure of the firm that was to have paid it. She is desolated at the consequent tepidness of her suitor, who furthermore maneuvers her into choosing between him and her parents, now dependent upon her because of Alfred’s failing eyesight. Alfred, who wrongly suspects Milvain of having written a caustic review of his latest book, will not accept charity from his wife.
Humiliated, Marian ends the engagement. Marian’s cousin Amy has received a legacy of ten thousand pounds from the same uncle, but Reardon refuses to accept any part of it, as he considers that he has lost Amy’s love. He catches a cold when visiting Amy and Willie, who is ill with diphtheria. Reardon falls ill with serious congestion of the lungs and dies, shortly after his son’s death and a tearful reconciliation with his wife.
Milvain, now free, writes an article, “The Novels of Edwin Reardon,” the proofs of which he does not fail to send to Amy. She responds with a warm letter of thanks, and their relationship blossoms. Amy has long found Milvain’s attitude to literary London more congenial than that of Reardon. The clear-eyed Milvain is able to make an advantageous marriage to a rich and beautiful widow. Soon afterwards, he succeeds to an editorship.
Bibliography
Arata, Stephen, ed. “New Grub Street”: George Gissing. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2008. This edition includes textual footnotes, a preface with explanatory matter, and four appendixes, including “Gissing on Writing” and “Grub Street Old and New.”
Coustillas, Pierre, and Colin Partridge, eds. George Gissing: The Critical Heritage. 1972. Reprint. New York: Routledge, 1995. Contains reviews of Gissing’s novels by British and American critics of his time. Includes a generous selection of reviews of New Grub Street that offer insight into why Gissing did not achieve popular success.
Halperin, John. Gissing: A Life in Books. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. A biography with many references to New Grub Street, including a discussion of its reflections of Gissing’s own hardships.
James, Simon J. Unsettled Accounts: Money and Narrative in the Novels of George Gissing. London: Anthem Press, 2003. Examines Gissing’s preoccupation with money as reflected in New Grub Street and his other novels, placing his work within the context of nineteenth century economic theory and the work of other English novelists. Concludes that Gissing’s work expresses an “unhappy accommodation with money’s underwriting of human existence and culture.”
Liggins, Emma. George Gissing, the Working Woman, and Urban Culture. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2006. Examines New Grub Street and other works by Gissing to analyze how they realistically depict London culture and changing class and gender identities, particularly for working women.
Michaux, Jean-Pierre, ed. George Gissing: Critical Essays. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1981. One-half of this book is devoted to essays about New Grub Street, including selections by such prominent authors as Angus Wilson, John Middleton Murray, and Gissing’s great admirer and champion, George Orwell. Also includes an influential essay by Q. D. Leavis, who praised Gissing’s portrayal of the miseries of the Victorian world.
Ryle, Martin, and Jenny Bourne Taylor, eds. George Gissing: Voices of the Unclassed. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2005. Collection of essays that analyze New Grub Street, Gissing’s representation of working women, his work in the context of the “cultural politics of food,” and his place in twentieth century English literature.
Selig, Robert L. George Gissing. Rev. ed. New York: Twayne, 1995. An excellent introductory biography, with chapters on Gissing’s major works and his career as a man of letters. Contains half a chapter on New Grub Street. Includes a chronology, notes, and an annotated bibliography.