The Paying Guest Paperback – November 14, 2012

This was a rather depressing novel. Two women, lesbienism, the times, set in Britain at the end of WW I when status changed and people didn't. Read it if you have to (it was a book club selection ...I call this book club the doom and gloom book club) the two women discover each other the pleasure of their bodies and company. It is co-dependence, immaturity and confusion. Then there is a death that throws everyone completely around. At times it is predictable and at times shallow. I wouldn't recommend this book for pleasure.

A comedy of manners. A real period piece.

Great depth and character development. Took guts

I like the book a lot.

Kind of stupid.

Didn't enjoy it at all, but read the whole thing hoping it would get better...it didn't.

Middle class English couple takes a lodger from a lower social level. Predictably, it doesn't work out to anyone's satisfaction.

The still underappreciated novelist George Gissing (1857 - 1903) is best known for his books cast in the three-volume Victorian mold, such as "New Grub Street". Gissing's books explore themes of class structure, commercialism, love, and failure. In 1895, Gissing temporarily abandoned the three-volume convention and published three short, highly readable novels: "Eve's Ransom", "Sleeping Fires" and the book under review, "The Paying Guest", each of which offers a distinctive approach to Gissing's characteristic themes. Of the three books, "Eve's Ransom" is one of Gissing's best works. The other two are good but less significant. I have been enjoying revisiting Gissing by rereading these three short works of 1895 and by reviewing them here on Amazon with the hope of interesting other readers in exploring Gissing."The Paying Guest" is unusual among Gissing's output in its lightness of touch and in its comedy. The book tells of the encounter of a rising middle-class suburban British family with a young girl, caught between two suitors, of a distinctly different background. Clarence Mumford, age 35, and his wife Emmeline, just under 30, live in rural Sutton in a home they call "Runnymede", about 15 miles from London with their two-year old son and their three domestics. In order to secure supplemental income, they advertise for a boarder, a "paying guest". The guest they receive will soon disrupt their peaceful routines.Louise Derrick is a young woman of 22 with no education. no skills, a temper, and a taste for frivolity. She is looking for a place to live due to difficulty with her mother, with her stepfather, Higgins, and with her stepsister, Cecily Higgins, age 26. A young man named Bowling is courting Cecily Higgins, but he appears to prefer Louise. Higgins wants Louise to leave home and agrees to pay her expenses to avoid discord between Louise and Cecily and to allow Bowling's courtship of Cecily to proceed forward without a rival for his attentions. Besides Bowling's interest, Louise is also being courted by a man named Cobb, a working-class person with a good income and prospects. Cobb has a rough, possibly violent, disposition and his courtship of Louise is a stormy, on-again, off-again affair. Louise does not seem to know her own mind but wants to marry. With some trepidation, the Mumfords accept Louise as a boarder.Louise's temper, what the Mumfords perceive as her vulgarity, and her attempts to draw the Mumfords into her relationship with her family and with Cobb lead to discord between the couple. They repent of their paying guest and try to find a tactful way to get her to leave. As the story develops, Louise has a private meeting with Mumford at Mumford's railway commuting station which provokes jealousy in Mrs. Mumford. Louise, thinking that Bowling's relationship with Cecily is at an end, encourages his matrimonial advances. Cobb pays an unannounced visit to Runnymede to pursue Louise and, as a result of a foolish accident, sets the drawing room of the home on fire, resulting in an injury which leaves Louise bed-ridden for several weeks. Mrs. Mumford, in her refinement, and Mrs Higgins, in her vulgarity, exchange pleasantries which ends forever Louise's stay in the house. Ultimately, Cobb winds up with Louise, with an uncertain future in store, and the Mumfords try to piece together their domestic life.The humor of the book results from the interaction between the Mumfords, with their snobbery and attempted refinement, and their well-meaning but foolish boarder Louise, and with her mother, stepfather and Cobb. In its portrayal of the effects of class and money on human relations, this book offers a short, upbeat introduction to Gissing's themes. Gissing's portrayal of women is among the strongest features of his work, and his novels frequently, as in "The Odd Women" address issues involving feminism. By portraying Louise in her shallowness in "The Paying Guest" Gissing stresses the need for expanding educational expectations for women if men and women are to have full intimate and rewarding lives together. The book can be read in a single sitting. While far from the best of Gissing, this book is enjoyable. With its two companion novels of 1895, especially the outstanding "Eve's Ransom", the book offers a good short introduction to Gissing for the newcomer. Readers who love the Gissing of "New Grub Street", "The Odd Women", or "Born in Exile" will gain a broader understanding of the author from these too-little known books in a shorter, more modern format.Robin Friedman

Gissing was writing shortly after Charles Dickens and his work forms a great counterpoint. Both authors wrote about the problems and perils of poverty, but while one can always count on a happy ending, with villains punished and heroes rewarded, from Dickens, Gissing strives for realism in his novels.This novella is a little lighter than much of his output, especially in the earlier scenes as a family struggling desperately to retain middle class status find themselves living with a distinctly working class young woman. But as the story progresses, we begin to see the realistic outlook creeping back in. If Dickens had written this, the outcome might have been the same but the characters would have been comic or grotesque, rather than real people with real reasons for behaving the way that they do.As a recent convert I could babble on all day, but just ignore me and read it.

This novel is really like a long short story. It is about a surburban couple living on the outskirts of London who decide to take in a female lodger after spotting her advert in the newspaper. She is certainly a strange girl! and the story follows her time at the house. It is very funny in places and very light hearted compared to Gissing's usual books. Well worth reading,if quite short. The dodo press edition is nicely printed on thick creamy paper with a very decent size of print (great for us middle-aged squinters).

Un amigo me pidió buscar un ejemplar de este libro. Se trata de un libro del s.XIX que se imprime sobre demanda (JIT). He comprador varios libros de este tipo y, a veces, surgen problemas. En este caso la edición es pésima:a) el título del libro aparece 2 veces por página en cualquier posición;b) hay faltas de lectura del texto original;c) aparecen símbolos extraños y faltan los números de página (los números originales a veces salen) .Es possible seguir el relato … pero no es ningún placer.

i can never understand why Gissing isnt up there with Henry James in the popularity polls. He writes about domestic situations weth a sensitivity and dark humour that exposes all the petty social and class distinctions of his time with humour and elegance.This clever, human little book will make you wince and laugh.

友達から勧められ読んでみました。正直、日本人的感覚は感じられませんでした。