George Gissing, Sleeping Fires

Gareth Reeves (University of Durham)

Ed. by Grace Moore, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1895

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novella

Resources

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A minor work produced during Gissing’s “major phase” (from 1889’s

The Nether World

to 1897’s

The Whirlpool

Sleeping Fires

(1895) is of interest to Gissing scholars because of the author’s revisitation of class-related themes from his earliest work. The text thus offers an intriguing glance backwards from a mature vantage point. The author wrote twenty-three novels in total, excluding the unfinished

Veranilda

(1904).

Sleeping Fires

represents one of Gissing’s rare attempts to write at novella length, a surprising departure for an author accustomed to writing in the three-volume format, which was declining in popularity in the 1890s. The work presents a social milieu not generally associated with Gissing, featuring some characters belonging to the leisured class and…

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1768 words

Citation: Reeves, Gareth. "Sleeping Fires". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 May 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2007, accessed 27 July 2024.]

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