New Grub Street

By: George Gissing

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

New Grub Street (1891) has the reputation of being George Gissing's finest novel. With bitter humour and grim realism, it tells the story of the ambitions, dreams, and disappointments of men and women struggling to earn their living as writers in the closing years of the Victorian era.

Jasper Milvain is a young writer of limited talent, eager to exploit every opportunity and social connection in order to make his way. Meanwhile, his more scholarly acquaintance Edwin Reardon may have enjoyed early success as a literary novelist, but his rigidly high standards set him at odds with the tastes of the mass market, and he seems destined for financial ruin.

For those who toil "in the valley of the shadow of books" the spectre of poverty looms large - and in the ruthlessly commercial world of New Grub Street, only those can adapt to the brutal demands of the marketplace stand a chance of finding happiness and fulfillment.

Public Domain (P)2017 Nigel Patterson

Great!

Great narration for this literary classic! I had to read this book in college and I enjoyed this audio much more than when I read the book a few years ago.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it

New Grub Street

I lietened to this night and day!I loved it!Nigel Patterson narrates this story of povert,y in the world of 1800's writers, very nicely.Very interesting.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Loathsome Hero

Most of the principled characters are consigned to tragedy while the less principled hero (and heroine) rise. Not unlike life itself. Brilliantly written.

Story was a bit slow going but narration was great

Story was a bit slow going but narration was great. Nigel Patterson has such a nice accent, like butter :)

New Grub Street is a great story, don't get me wrong....it's just a bit slow for my taste. I like faster pacing. Character development was great and it's an interesting story line. Best part of this audio book, for me, was the narration.

I was given this free review copy audio-book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Excellent classic novel

I've read many Victorian novels, and would rate this one very highly. I wouldn't compare it to the best of Dickens, Eliot, Trollope, Hardy, or the Brontes, But it's very entertaining. The prose style is polished. Some of characters are drawn with subtlety; some a little heavy-handedly. The dilemmas they find themselves in are realistic and sometimes excruciating. And the narration is superb. I plan on reading more Gissing in the future.

A Tragic Story of Unfulfilled Dreams

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Giving a review to a classic is always a hard task. Of course the narrative is valid as it was able to withstand time, criticisms, and praises. It is then with the eye of a more modern reader that the review must make sense of an era when the arts were taken a lot more seriously than today and dying for their sakes, accepted as right. In today's world, some of the characters might appear a little too weak but in that society, in those time, that attitude might have been expected and even cherished. I wish that at least one of the other more serious writers had achieved some success, not only the person that least deserved it. But that's life, isn't it?
I did enjoy the performance and would recommend this book to the reader of classics.

Listen to this if you read it long ago!

What made the experience of listening to New Grub Street the most enjoyable?

For some reason, I get way more into books in audio format than I ever did reading - particular books that I was assigned to read when I was in school. I have a whole new appreciation for this book now. Keep in mind it is 125 or so years old, but that just makes it more interesting to me.

What did you like best about this story?

The world was pretty different then, and this book gives you a window into that different world.

Which character – as performed by Nigel Patterson – was your favorite?

My favorite character is Jasper - he is so Alarmingly Modern!

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.