New Grub Street

By: George Gissing

Narrated by: Andrew Wincott

Set in the literary and journalistic buzz of late 19th-century London, New Grub Street depicts a world that George Gissing knew inside out. Elements of his own experience are diffused in different characters – in particular the struggling, talented Edwin Reardon and the young, "modern" Jasper Milvain – through which he explores the sense of crisis for writers at the time: the gulf between aesthetic integrity and commercial success. It was the first major novel to place the concept of authorship at the heart of the plot, and allowed late-Victorian readers a tantalizing glimpse behind the scenes of literary production.

Written in a white heat of determination, New Grub Street marked a shift in Gissing’s fortunes – a triumphantly compelling, engaging work of fiction that opened doors to the recognition he deserved.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2021 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd.

On to the next Gissing I can find.

Superb use of language and psychological insight. Listen and learn that human nature is constant, but the ability to express ourselves seems of late to go down and down. How crude, ignorant and disrespectful we are today in comparison to the denizens of Gissing’s New Grub Street and environs.

An Exciting Book, Wonderful Reader

Gissing is able to create vital characters who confront issues that are as thorny to us as they were to him.