Concetti Chiave

  • New Grub Street, a novel by George Gissing, highlights the struggles and ironies of its protagonists within the literary world of the late 19th century.
  • The term "Grub Street" was coined by Alexander Pope, symbolizing the challenging life of writers striving to survive in a changing literary landscape.
  • Gissing's novel paints a picture of the diverse group of writers and scholars during a publishing crisis, influenced by emerging forms of communication and popular journalism.
  • The story is set during the Victorian era, a time when many writers prioritized profit over passion, yet some still pursued authentic expression.
  • Despite being a Victorian author, Gissing's work is seen as modern, revealing timeless insights into the conflicts between commercialism and artistic integrity.

New Grub Street is a novel written by George Gissing in 1891. The title of the novel refers to the complicated vicissitudes and love, but also ironic, involving the protagonists.

The Context of Grub Street

In fact, Grub Street is the street name invented by Alexander Pope in his satire of the literary world and which has since described the environment in which unfolded the dark and thankless job of an army of scribblers forced to make ends meet.
Through an ironic, Gissing portrays a diverse and heterogeneous group of novelists, journalists and scholars during the Cultural and literary crisis in the late nineteenth century, when the new forms of communication and a more popular journalism are beginning to influence the public taste and on the intellectual works: it is a period of real publishing crisis.

What is the Hypocrisy of the Victorian Era?

The novel is set in an era when publishing was just a way to make money for most people; it was very common that writers mercificassero their content, writing just to sell and not a passion. However, in this hypocritical environment (we are in the Victorian era), there are still those at the cost of life and happiness persists in wanting to write what he likes and not what the public wants.
Despite George Gissing is a Victorian author (a bit 'misunderstood) his novel reveals modern and contemporary in its content.

Domande da interrogazione

  1. What does the title "New Grub Street" signify in George Gissing's novel?
  2. The title "New Grub Street" refers to the challenging and often thankless world of writers, as depicted by Gissing, where novelists, journalists, and scholars struggle during a cultural and literary crisis in the late nineteenth century.

Domande e risposte

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