LADY ON THE WEB

Having just finished The Nether World, am now reading John Goode's Introduction to same, but very gingerly, in case he strays from the subject at hand and tries to reveal plot points and endings to later novels. I disagreed immediately and strongly with him when he said that Nether is the first example of Gissing's "mature style," surpassing previous efforts. Seemed to me it was a step back, for reasons already mentioned. The final one-fifth of the novel is worth the reading, though -- pure Gissing in its psychological insights, its illustration of change in character shaped by outside events.

Interesting to note that he wrote it in Italy.

Next up: The Emancipated.