13 Comments

I truly adore your newsletters. I feel a little embarrassed to admit I've never read Gissing, but I will soon!

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Thank you so much Despina! This was my first Gissing too and it's made me so excited to read more. I'm looking forward to The Nether World soon.

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I mean, if there's anything that talked me into reading Gissing is your review. I do have, however, Nether World on my tbr. As for the exhibition, absolutely amazing content. I must say I also think of myself as more human than gender X or Y. I'm not saying I'm non-binary though. Its actually quite difficult to put into words. All in all a brilliant newsletter.

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Thanks so much for your kind words. I think The Nether World will be my next Gissing - its focus on the working classes and nineteenth century 'slums' has definitely caught my interest.

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I wish had read more this year, but for some reason it seems like it took me forever to read anything.

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I am unfamiliar with the writings of Gissing, but I appreciate the introduction to them through this intriguing posting. While reading about _The Odd Women_, Margaret Fuller’s _Woman in the 19th Century_ came to mind. One of her most frequent persuasive techniques is to promote female empowerment by discussing the benefits it would have for men to have more compatible partners intellectually & artistically. Louisa May Alcott’s fictional focus on linking female empowerment with female labor (as experienced in her own life) would be an interesting comparative study with the male perspective of the issue highlighted in Gissing’s novel.

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Thank you so much for these wonderful recommendations. Margaret Fuller's work sounds fascinating. I will definitely look her up.

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Thank you for another excellent newsletter, Natalie. I didn't know about Gissing's novel, but it sounds like a must-read.

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Thanks so much Amy. This is my first Gissing novel and I’ve been surprised just how great his writing is. It seems he doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. Looking forward to reading more from him.

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I've always been a fan of George Gissing's work, and I really enjoyed this! Thanks.

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Thank you so much, Lucienne. This was my first by him and I’m looking forward to reading more. I think The Nether World is next on my list but any recommendations greatly appreciated.

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Thank you for featuring Gissing. We used to live in Wakefield, his home town, and I became quite a fan. But he is so little read or talked about. The exhibition would challenge me, but you've put it on my list to try...

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Thank you, Sarah. I didn’t know Gissing was from Wakefield, I still have so much to learn about him. I was recommended The Odd Women by a friend on Instagram but I think you’re right, he seems to fly under the radar quite a bit. This was the first book I’ve read by him and I was astonished how full of ideas his writing is. Very much looking forward to reading more by him. As for the exhibition, it challenged me too. The more abstract art becomes, the more difficult I find it. There are so many artists on display in this exhibition, that it was hard to absorb it all in one go. Kandinsky takes a lot of the limelight and is the focus of many rooms, but the women’s stories fascinate me. I almost wish there had been more from them on display.

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