Novelist. George Gissing grew up in Thompson's Yard, Wakefield. In 1872 he won a scholarship to Owens College; while there, he won literary prizes like the Poem Prize and the Shakespeare scholarship. His academic career ended in disgrace when he was found guilty of stealing, expelled and sentenced to a month's hard labor. In September 1876 he travelled to the United States, where he spent time in Massachusetts, writing and teaching classics. He moved to Chicago, where he wrote for newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune. In September 1877 he returned to England, then settled in London, writing fiction and working as a private tutor. He privately published his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, funding it with money from an inheritance. He spent time reading classical authors and coaching students for examinations. His next novel, Mrs. Grundy's Enemies, went unpublished, although it was bought by Bentley & Son in 1882. His novel The Unclassed was published in 1884. Between his return to England and the publication of The Unclassed, he wrote 11 short stories, although only "Phoebe" was published at the time, in the March 1884 issue of Temple Bar. Isabel Clarendon and Demos were published in 1886. He used the proceeds from the sale of The Nether World in 1889 to fund a trip to Italy. His experiences there formed a basis for the 1890 work The Emancipated. Novels from this period include Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. Some short stories were collected in the volume Human Odds and Ends, and other collected volumes were published after his death. In 1895, he published three novellas, Eve's Ransom, The Paying Guest and Sleeping Fires. He made a second trip to Italy in 1897–1898, which is recounted in his travel book By the Ionian Sea. While there, he wrote Charles Dickens: A Critical Study. In Rome he did research for a romantic novel set in the sixth century, Veranilda. The Town Traveller, written in 1897, was published while he was in Italy. He returned to England in 1898, then in 1899 he moved to France, and wrote several novels while there, including Among the Prophets, and Our Friend the Charlatan and Will Warburton. In 1903, he published The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, which initially appeared as a serial entitled "An author at grass" in the Fortnightly Review.
Novelist. George Gissing grew up in Thompson's Yard, Wakefield. In 1872 he won a scholarship to Owens College; while there, he won literary prizes like the Poem Prize and the Shakespeare scholarship. His academic career ended in disgrace when he was found guilty of stealing, expelled and sentenced to a month's hard labor. In September 1876 he travelled to the United States, where he spent time in Massachusetts, writing and teaching classics. He moved to Chicago, where he wrote for newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune. In September 1877 he returned to England, then settled in London, writing fiction and working as a private tutor. He privately published his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, funding it with money from an inheritance. He spent time reading classical authors and coaching students for examinations. His next novel, Mrs. Grundy's Enemies, went unpublished, although it was bought by Bentley & Son in 1882. His novel The Unclassed was published in 1884. Between his return to England and the publication of The Unclassed, he wrote 11 short stories, although only "Phoebe" was published at the time, in the March 1884 issue of Temple Bar. Isabel Clarendon and Demos were published in 1886. He used the proceeds from the sale of The Nether World in 1889 to fund a trip to Italy. His experiences there formed a basis for the 1890 work The Emancipated. Novels from this period include Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. Some short stories were collected in the volume Human Odds and Ends, and other collected volumes were published after his death. In 1895, he published three novellas, Eve's Ransom, The Paying Guest and Sleeping Fires. He made a second trip to Italy in 1897–1898, which is recounted in his travel book By the Ionian Sea. While there, he wrote Charles Dickens: A Critical Study. In Rome he did research for a romantic novel set in the sixth century, Veranilda. The Town Traveller, written in 1897, was published while he was in Italy. He returned to England in 1898, then in 1899 he moved to France, and wrote several novels while there, including Among the Prophets, and Our Friend the Charlatan and Will Warburton. In 1903, he published The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, which initially appeared as a serial entitled "An author at grass" in the Fortnightly Review.
Bio by: Pete Mohney
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