Heroic Life of George Gissing, Part I

'Coustillas's monumental The Heroic Life is itself heroic, and thanks to him readers will be able to see Gissing, and the extraordinary achievement of his fiction, from more than just one side.' Victorian Studies 'this biography is both stunningly researched and also clearly written. In its range, originality, depth and detail, it not only leaves behind all previous biographies of Gissing but most biographies of any kind.' Etudes Anglaises 'The Heroic Life of George Gissing will delight his admirers' The Observer 'a fitting culmination to what is very nearly a lifetime's work' D J Taylor, Times Literary Supplement (2011 and 2012 Books of the Year) 'a biography that must come close to being definitive' The Gissing Journal 'a book marked by unprecedented detail. Recommended' CHOICE 'detailed, authoritative, compendius' Literary Review 'an unequivocal accomplishment, and a thoroughly enjoyable read' The Floating Academy 'A finely honed, remarkably detailed picture of the writer emerges, which in its sympathetic, informed and attentive engagement is unlikely to be surpassed.' English Literature in Transition 1880-1920 'Coustillas brings acuity to the study of Gissing's early life and work.' The Year's Work in English Studies

• Introduction; Chapter 1 Ancestry, Childhood and Family Life (November 1857–December 1870); Chapter 2 Alderley Edge and Manchester (January 1871–August 1876); Chapter 3 The American Experiment (September 1876–October 1877); Chapter 4 Penury in London (October 1877–June 1880); Chapter 5 On the Way to Professional Writing (July 1880–August 1882); Chapter 6 Defying Mrs Grundy (September 1882–June 1884); Chapter 7 Between Two Worlds (June 1884–April 1886); Chapter 8 A Short-Lived Success (April 1886–September 1888);