Sleeping Fires (Dodo Press) [Paperback]

George Gissing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2008

George Gissing (1857-1903) was an English novelist, who wrote twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. Although his early works are naturalistic, he developed into one of the the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era. Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, to lower-middle class parents, Gissing went on to win a scholarship to Owens College, the present day University of Manchester. A brilliant student, he excelled at university, winning many coveted prizes, including the Shakespeare prize in 1875. Between 1891 and 1897 (his so-called middle period) he produced his best works, which include New Grub Street, Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. The middle years of the decade saw his reputation reach new heights: by some critics he is counted alongside George Meredith and Thomas Hardy as one of the best three novelists of his day. He also enjoyed new friendships with fellow writers such as Henry James, and H. G. Wells, and came into contact with many other up and coming writers such as Joseph Conrad and Stephen Crane.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

English novelist known for his realistic and honest portrayal of the lower middle class. Gissing's work is marked by his keen observation and an eye for detail. In his life he experienced the harshness and cruelty of poverty which he describes in his writings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Dodo Press (October 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140991061X
• ISBN-13: 978-1409910619
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,042,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Renewing Love in Middle Age, January 2, 2009

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Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sleeping Fires (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

"Sleeping Fires" (1895) is a short novella by the English novelist George Gissing (1857 -- 1903) that explores the possibility of finding a former love and overcoming grief and guilt in middle and late life. Gissing has never been a popular novelist; but his books have lasted. He has a small but loyal group of readers and his books are becoming accessible and in-print once again. Some critics, such as John Halperin in his biography "George Gissing: A Life in Books" rate "Sleeping Fires" highly indeed within Gissing's output.

"Sleeping Fires" is set in Greece and in London. The two major characters are Edward Langley, age 42 and Lady Agnes Revill, age 37. As the book opens, Langley is touring in Greece. Langley is well-to-do, has never had to work, and feels a sense of emptiness in his life. Sixteen years earlier Langley had courted a young woman named Agnes Forrest, but his marriage proposal was rejected when Langley confessed to Forrest's father that he had fathered a son out of wedlock three years earlier. The mother had taken the boy away and married another man. Langley did not know of the child's whereabouts. Langley had remained unmarried living an essentially leisurely life. Agnes Forrest had married a member of Parliament to become Lady Agnes Revill, where she had moved in powerful British society, become socially prominent, and conservative in her outlook. Revill died, leaving her a widow courted by another influential member of Parliament, Lord Henry Strands.

While in Greece, Langley meets a companion from his college days named Worboys who has become a classical scholar-- and an unmitigated pendant. Worboys is accompanied by an 18 year old boy, Louis Reed, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Langley. It develops that Reed is the ward of Lady Revill who has sent the lad on tour because the youth is coming under what she fears is the unfortunate influence of a woman named Mrs. Treslian, who has liberal views about social equality and about helping the condition of the poor. When Reed gets a letter from Treslian saying that her relationship with him must end due to her guardian's objection, Langley agrees with Reed to sail back to England and discuss the matter with Lady Revill. Langley is still unhappy over the rejection years earlier by Lady Revill and her family.

When the two meet after so many years, it is with an awkward formality, as Lady Revill informs Langley that Louis Reed is his son. Louis soon thereafter dies in Greece, and the two former would-be lovers engage in a sharp dialogue of recrimination. Lady Revill blames Langley for fathering the child and not offering to marry the mother. Langley, in turn, blames Lady Revill for not telling him about his son and for making a loveless marriage following her rejection of him.

With Louis dead, the story shifts to the possible renewal of the relationship between Langley and Revill. Much of the tale is played out in dialogue between the two, which is frank and cutting for a Victorian novel. Langley and Revill excoriate themselves and each other for what they see as the meaningless of their lives. Revill exchanges letters with Mrs. Treslian, who works with the poor in a London slum, and comes to appreciate the value of Treslian's efforts and of Louis's idealism in trying to follow her. Langley renews his proposal of many years earlier and is again sharply rejected. Revill does not want to surrender her independence and her will. But with time, she softens and reluctantly admits that she still loves Langley. She asks for time to reflect as Langley returns to Greece to attend to burial arrangements for his son.

Here is a key passage from the end of the story in which Langley pursues his marriage proposal.

"How strange it is, Agnes. We seem so far apart. The long years of utter separation -- the meeting at length in cold formality -- the bitterness, the reproaches -- so much that seems to stand between us; and yet we are everything to each other. If you were the kind of woman who has no will of her own, could I love you as I do? And if I were less conscious of my purpose would you listen to me? There is no question of one yielding to the other, save in the moment which overcomes your pride and leaves you free to utter the truth. Those are the old phrases of love-making -- they rise to a man's tongue when his blood is hot. We shall never see the world with the same eyes; man and woman never did so, never will; but there is no life for us apart from each other. Our very faults make us born companions. Your need of me is as great as mine of you. We have forgiven all there is to forgive; we know what may be asked and what may not. No castles in the air; no idealisms of boy and girl; but two lives that have a want and see but the one hope of satisfying it."

Unlike much of Gissing, "Sleeping Fires" ends with a sense of hope as Langley and Revill move towards each other in hope for the "day that is still granted to us." With all its Victorian trappings, this story speaks clearly of love as the source of meaning in human life. The manner in which the two primary characters verbally expose each other's shortcomings is highly modern. The book can be read easily in a single sitting. While probably not the best of Gissing, the book will reward reading.

Robin Friedman