APS TOGETHER
Day 33
New Grub Street by George GissingChapter 33
December 8, 2023 by Yiyun Li
“The simple, sober truth has no chance whatever of being listened to, and it’s only by volume of shouting that the ear of the public is held.”
Amen. People change very little.
“What they want is the lightest and frothiest of chit-chatty information—bits of stories, bits of description, bits of scandal, bits of jokes, bits of statistics, bits of foolery.”
Whelpdale—or, Gissing—really sees things very astutely. In a way, Whelpdale is truly a pioneer—in starting a business to teach aspiring writers, in becoming a literary agent, in foreseeing what the public will spend much of their time on in 150 years.
One has to admire Milvain’s financial sense. His negotiating for Maud’s marriage settlement is a very nice touch after he has done the honorable and great service to Reardon and Biffen.
