The Nether World

The Nether World is a novel written by George Gissing and published in 1889. Set in the impoverished district of Clerkenwell in Victorian London, the book explores the lives of a group of working-class characters struggling to survive in a society that seems to offer them little hope.The story centers around the Yules, a family of six living in a small, cramped apartment. The father, John Yule, is a former clerk who has fallen on hard times and now spends his days drinking and gambling. His wife, Hannah, works as a seamstress, while their two eldest children, Clara and Bob, work in a factory and a pawnshop, respectively. The youngest children, Jack and Annie, are too young to work and spend their days playing in the streets.As the novel progresses, we are introduced to a variety of other characters, including a struggling artist, a destitute widow, and a group of socialists who are trying to improve conditions for the working class. Through their stories, Gissing paints a vivid picture of life in the Nether World, a place where poverty, disease, and despair are never far away.Despite its bleak subject matter, The Nether World is a powerful and moving novel that offers a compelling glimpse into the lives of the Victorian poor. Gissing's prose is vivid and evocative, and his characters are fully realized and deeply sympathetic. Ultimately, the book is a testament to the resilience and courage of those who are forced to endure the harshest of circumstances.In the social classification of the nether world -- a subject which so eminently adapts itself to the sportive and gracefully picturesque mode of treatment -- it will be convenient to distinguish broadly, and with reference to males alone, the two great sections of those who do, and those who do not, wear collars. Each of these orders would, it is obvious, offer much scope to an analyst delighting in subtle gradation. Taking the collarless, bow shrewdly might one discriminate between the many kinds of neckcloth which our climate renders necessary as a substitute for the nobler article of attire!This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.