George Gissing

"The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft" by George Gissing

This is another thin red book that is in both English and Korean that I bought at Home Plus in Daejeon, Korea. I never heard of this writer or the book. I just took a chance on it. I have never been so pleasantly surprised as I was with this author. To think, I discovered this English novelist who lived from November 22, 1857 to December 28, 1903 in a country whose primary language is not English. He died at the age of 46 from emphysema from an ill-advised winter walk. He is buried in France.

"The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft" was the most autobiographical work of Gissing and it brought him much acclaim. He had been able to retreat to a more private life to write after receiving a late legacy. This is a story of that new beginning of his writing life.

In the book, the author writes as if he is writing a journal and he writes clearly his love of books, his home, the walks and nature and what he sees on them, his housekeeper and other things in such a way it is warm and comforting to the reader. I can see why Gissing is included in this series of books to help the Korean learn English for the book is easy to read but interesting and well written. The reader can readily see what Ryecroft is experiencing around him.

I looked up Amazon Books to see if any of Gissing books are in print and was happy to see quite a few of them are. I had looked up his name in Google Books and expected to see his novels sitting there forgotten since he had lived so long ago. Not so. He is read now and they are all in print. I can understand it. When I get to the USA in December of this year, I will buy one. I loved this book. What a wonderful mind and eye he must have had to have written the way he did.