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The Nether World

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The Nether World

By: George Gissing
Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
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About this listen

Dramatic, fast-moving and brutal, Gissing’s highly regarded early novel lays bare the reality of urban poverty in 1870s London.

Old Michael Snowdon returns to the city with an inheritance that he determines should go towards helping the poor—but goodness and charity are not to play a part here. Everyone has an agenda, and scheming spreads through the story like a disease. Gissing’s own experience of London as an outsider in a vast city that both fascinated and appalled him gave him the tools and the drive to create a visceral sense of place. Life is unremittingly grim for just about everyone, from the weak and well-intentioned Jane to the coarse, cunning Clem Peckover and her feckless rival Pennyloaf Candy.

The author offers no escape from the gloomy cycle, and there is something alarmingly timeless in the unvarnished portrait of human nature.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2022 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd. City Life Classics Genre Fiction Urban World Literature Fiction England

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All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator is excellent and the story kept me on my toes taking twists and turns I did not anticipate.

A great read

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A great writer and wonderful narration! This story deserves to be amongst the greats of literature !

Vivid, poignant and rich characterisation

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I am new to George Gissing, this is my first of his novels. I loved his writing, and although it is dark it is a faithfully representation of life as he saw it. Very well narrated; Nicholas Boulton should read more of Grissings novels as most of his narrators are very poor. I Highly recommend this book

Wonderfully written

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Marvelous indepth and gritty analysis of the poorer darker side of Victorian London.

Dickens without the humour and mote realism.

Excellent, im a new fan of Gissing

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Dickens often uses a rich old relative to alleviate the suffering of his victims. Think Oliver Twist or Martin Chuzzlewit. The rich old gent fails to save Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop and he fails in Gissing's Nether World as well.

In The Nether World bullies, swindlers and crooks fight like rats in a sack. The innocent are their dupes and the good are too proud to seize the legitimate opportunities that arise. The result is a novel where charity fails and idealism is crushed, where the corrupt succeed but precious little good it does them.

Gissing is not a man to use a short word when 3 or 4 long ones will do. His portrait of life at the bottom of Victorian London is memorable but his characters are less finely drawn. As for humour the only time I laughed out loud was when Bob Hewett got hit by a cab. In the Nether World you take your laughs where you can find them.

Long on suffering, short on laughs

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