Algernon Gissing

Algernon Fred Gissing (25 November 1860 – 5 February 1937) was an English novelist and the younger brother of George Gissing.[1] He wrote 25 novels, two collections of short stories and several pieces of travel writing. He died from heart disease.[2]

Biography

Gissing was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. His parents were Thomas Waller Gissing (1829-1870) and Margaret Gissing (1832-1913), and he had two older brothers named William and George. His initial education was at Back Lane School in Wakefield, but from 1870 he started attending Lindow Grove School in Cheshire as a boarder, as a result of his father's death. He went on to study Law at London University, graduating with an LLB in 1882. He practised as a solicitor in Wakefield for a while, but failed to attract enough clients to sustain his practise.[2]

On 8 September 1887, Gissing married Catherine née Baseley (1859–1937), later moving with her to Broadway, Worcestershire. Together they had five children.[2]

Having been unsuccessful in his legal career, Gissing decided to pursue an interest in writing literature. During his life, he wrote and published 30 books, but earned a negligible income from them. He received a number of grants from the Royal Literary Fund.[2]

Gissing's 1924 Cotswold walking guide, The Footpath Way in Gloucestershire was one of the first for the district.[3]

Published works
Novels
Short story collections
  • Love in the Byways (1910)
Travel writing
Other
  • The Letters of George Gissing to Members of His Family (1927) - co-editor with sister Ellen

References
  1. John Sutherland (1990) [1989]. "GISSING, Algernon". The Stanford Companion to Victorian Literature. p. 247.
  2. Pierre Coustillas, 'Gissing, Algernon Fred (1860–1937)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online), Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 16 June 2012.
  3. Jane Bingham (2010). The Cotswolds: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-19-539875-5.
  4. "Review of A Vagabond in Arts by Algernon Gissing". The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art. 78 (2027): 241. 1 September 1894.
  5. "Review of The Sport of Stars by Algernon Gissing". The Athenaeum (3558): 13. 4 January 1896.
  6. "Review: The Scholar of Bygate by Algernon Gissing". The Athenæum (3617): 241. 20 February 1897.
  7. "Review of A Secret of the North Sea by Algernon Gissing". The Athenæum (3772): 173. 10 February 1900.


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