1887 – the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign – is a year of celebration. For this story’s heroine, Nancy Lord, it is also an opportunity to experience adult society. Her unchaperoned journey through the streets of London marks the beginning of her revolt, setting in motion the wheels of this end-of-the-nineteenth-century novel, which deals with the thorny issue of female emancipation.
Circa l’autore
George Robert Gissing (1857–1903) was an English novelist known for his realistic portrayal of the lower middle class, drawing on his own experiences of poverty. His first novel, Workers in the Dawn, failed commercially, but he persevered and achieved fame and success with his anticipatory novels New Grub Street, Born in Exile, and The Whirlpool.