New Grub Street

New Grub Street, realistic novel by George Gissing, published in three volumes in 1891. It portrays the intrigues and the crippling effects of poverty in the literary world.

New Grub Street contrasts the career of Edwin Reardon, a gifted but impoverished author of proven literary merit, with that of Jasper Milvain, a materially successful reviewer and literary hack. The book suggests that self-advertising affords a writer a more certain route to success than does talent.