The Odd Women in The Roundtable

Sep 22, 2012 Everyman rated it liked it

In his day, in the late Victorian age, Gissing was one of the most popular novelists. But he is not well known today, his contemporaries Trollope, Hardy, and James having aged much better than Gissing has. Indeed, neither the Oxford Anthology of English Literature - Victorian Prose and Poetry nor the Norton Anthology of English Literature has an entry for his writing, and the Oxford Anthology doesn't even mention him in its "Suggestions for Further Reading." The Teaching Company course on "The E In his day, in the late Victorian age, Gissing was one of the most popular novelists. But he is not well known today, his contemporaries Trollope, Hardy, and James having aged much better than Gissing has. Indeed, neither the Oxford Anthology of English Literature - Victorian Prose and Poetry nor the Norton Anthology of English Literature has an entry for his writing, and the Oxford Anthology doesn't even mention him in its "Suggestions for Further Reading." The Teaching Company course on "The English Novel" has no discussion of him.

His contemporary obscurity is a shame, because while he may not be a first rank writer, some of his novels and most of his short stories are certainly worth reading. The Odd Women is one of his better known novels, though in my view not as strong as either New Grub Street or The Nether World.

The odd women of the title, I should note up front, are not called odd because they are unusual, but are odd because at the time England had considerably more women of marital age than men, so there were many women who were "odd man out," or more accurately "odd woman out." The novel follows about a decade in the lives of five women, three of them sisters, for whom marriage is unlikely and, in several cases, unwanted (or so at least the characters argue; the reader is entitled to believe or disbelieve them). The novel is mildly didactic, with extended conversations discussing a variety of views toward marriage and feminine liberation in the late Victorian age. These views are more enjoyably offered than they would be in a more academic document, and offer some interesting thoughts on the role of marriage and women in the transition period of the later industrial age.

The weakness of the novel, in my view, is that several of the main characters are rather flat, with their characters not well developed. They aren't quite stereotypical, but they seem to represent "types" Gissing uses to put forth his views rather than actual people.

The novel's strength is the extended conversations, which are thought-provoking and often amusing. Indeed, Gissing has a subtle and wry sense of humor which he slips in almost casually rather than flaunting.

Without spoiling the ending, or endings since there are several intertwined stories, I can say that this is not the traditional English comedic novel with everybody coming out happily in the end. It isn't quite Hardy, but it is closer to him than to Austen.

This is not a great novel, but it is a good novel, easy to read and quite sufficiently enjoyable when a reader wants a bit of a break from Bleak House, and War and Peace, and other "most serious" novels. ...more

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Jun 20, 2016 El rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-centurylit-late, hear-me-roar-and-gender, library-borrow

I sort of fell out of the world for about a month, didn't I? I am back and trying to get caught up on some reviews. It's been a busy time and also summer and summer makes me feel like the saddest pile of shit you've ever met, so bear with me. It happens every year, though this year may be the worst so far.

The Odd Women is a delightful story about the Madden sisters and their friendship with Rhoda, an intelligent woman, rare for their environment and society. Rhoda, of course, opens up their eyes ...more

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Jun 08, 2016 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars. There were certainly ideas and themes about women that I never expected to see in a Victorian novel, which was quite refreshing.

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Apr 15, 2016 Dawn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, classics

I ended up reading East Lynne with one of my book groups and hated it. Because of that it was recommended I read Thomas Hardy and George Gissing. So, I started with this one and it was splendid.

The two main protagonists are Monica Madden and Rhoda Nunn, one not ready to give up the conventions of a safe marriage and one determined against it absolutely. This book is their story, of marriage, loneliness, heartbreak and the emergence of the "New Woman".

I am a fan of any book with great female ch ...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, own, classics, kindle, 2012-victorians-challenge

I found this book to be fascinating. Gissing represents a unique voice in Victorian literature, and he did not disappoint me with the wonderful social commentary that he wrote about the roles of the sexes and their own perceptions about what their roles should be in Victorian society. Oh yeah, and then Gissing throws in a bunch of stuff regarding the multiple purposes of getting married, the effects of loneliness on the human psyche and the crazy things that people will or won't do for love. Ele ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Alasse rated it it was amazing

Shelves: victorians-and-friends, feminists-and-friends

Forget about Edith Wharton - this the best, most ahead-of-its-time, social commentary book I have read in a long, long time, if not ever. How come it wasn't on my radar before? It speaks about women's equality in a way that makes it incredible that it was written in the freaking 1800s. If only, the fact that it was makes it even more refreshing - because these are problems that we're already aware of but we still haven't managed to resolve, seeing it all discussed like it's new and devoid of con ...more

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Jul 20, 2020 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read

The 'odd women' are those left over in the marriage stakes, unable or unwilling to conform to Victorian society's view of marriage and the domestic ideal. The Madden sisters are genteel but impoverished, struggling to survive in London after their father's death, and the youngest Monica sees that their situation can only be improved if she makes a good marriage. Meanwhile, their old friend Rhoda Nunn is engaged in working to educate single women for an independent life, and puts forward a differ ...more

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