A man of many parts : Gissing's short stories, essays and other works / Barbara Rawlinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rawlinson, Barbara.

Series:

Costerus ; new ser., v. 159.

Costerus, 0165-9618 ; new ser. ; 59

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--19th century.

English literature.

Gissing, George, 1857-1903--Criticism and interpretation.

Gissing, George.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (309 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; New York, NY : Rodopi, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This comprehensive study of George Gissing's short stories and related non-fiction is essential reading for students of nineteenth-century realism. For the first time readers will be able to follow the development which transformed Gissing's unremarkable early stories into the very individual tales that elevated his work to the vanguard of realistic short fiction. Gissing's American period is notable for its accumulation of themes that were repeatedly refined and adapted for his later work, causality emerging as the dominant voice. On his return to England, shifting political and philosophical beliefs expressed in his non-fiction had a vital impact on his second phase of short fiction, and the part played by realism in the author's short stories and his writings on Charles Dickens added further dimensions to his work as a whole. By the final phase of Gissing's remarkable development, it is evident that his interest in the concept of causality as the major force in his short work had been replaced by a more challenging preoccupation with the human psyche. This introduced philosophical, sociological and psychological dimensions to Gissing's work that established him in the field of short fiction as a leading exponent of late nineteenth-century realism.

Contents:

Chronology of the Short Stories

Introduction

Chapter One Exile in America

Chapter Two A Promising Start

Chapter Three The Formative Years

Chapter Four A Time of Transition

Chapter Five Changing Values

Chapter Six The Place of Realism in Gissing's Short Fiction

Chapter Seven The Right Place at the Right Time

Chapter Eight Gissing on Dickens

Chapter Nine A Victim of Circumstances

Chapter Ten Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-273) and index.

ISBN:

94-012-0348-2

1-4294-5620-5

OCLC:

714567379

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789401203487 DOI