George Gissing

An extraordinary novel of love and ambition set in late Victorian London

Elaine Showalter's introduction considers the position of single women in Victorian society and Gissing's own complex and contradictory attitude towards feminism, sexuality and marriage.

George Gissing's best-known novel shows us the literary underbelly of Victorian England, and the writers striving to forge their reputations in 'the street of no shame'.