Customer Reviews

In the Year of Jubilee (Everyman's Library (Paper))

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Sad to say, most people, even those who are fans of Victorian-era literature, have probably never heard of George Gissing. Those who do know him think perhaps he was a 'one hit wonder' with New Grub Street. While New Grub Street is a brilliant read, his little known In the Year of the Jubilee (IYJ) is also a gem.

On the surface, IYJ is a story common to Victorian-era novels. People are obsessed with the thought of inheriting money, making sure they are viewed as 'refined' rather than 'working class', and the notion of 'family values' is taken to an extreme. However in IYJ we finally see the emergence of the middle class, people who are in white collar jobs and who see the value in working (rather than living off of someone else's fortune). And most shocking for a Victorian novel, the most forceful character is a young woman who actually seeks out work to keep her life interesting (and not depend on her estranged husband).

IYJ is well-written, thought-provoking without being preachy, and should be held in esteem on par with the works from James, Eliot, Wharton and, indeed, other works from George Gissing.

The Forgotten Books version of this title looks terrible and is virtually unreadable: looks like a bad photocopy done on a copier that was running out of ink. Gissing deserves better than this.