The Whirlpool Esprios Classics

George Robert Gissing (22 November 1857 - 28 December 1903) was a British novelist who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. Gissing also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. He published his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, in 1880. His best known novels, which are published in modern editions, include The Nether World (1889), New Grub Street (1891) and The Odd Women (1893).

British fiction writer George Gissing is now regarded as one of the most important authors of the late Victorian era. This satisfyingly rich novel offers an unconventional take on romance. Protagonist Harvey Rolfe woos and eventually marries the lovely and free-spirited Alma, admiring her independence and unwillingness to bow to social mores. But are these traits part of her allegiance to the evolving role of women -- or merely personal shortcomings?

Mabel Osgood Wright (1859-1934) was an American author. She was an early leader in the Audubon movement who wrote extensively about nature and birds. She was born in New York City and was educated at home and in private schools. Wright's first printed work (apart from a few verses), was the essay "A New England May Day", which appeared in the New York Evening Post in 1893. This work was collected with other pieces into her first book, The Friendship of Nature, published by Macmillan in 1894. The following year, Wright released Birdcraft: A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game, and Water Birds.

Excerpt from The Whirlpool Harvey Rolfe was old enough to dine with deliberation, young and healthy enough to sauce with appetite the dishes he thoughtfully selected. You perceived in him the imperfect epicure. His club had no culinary fame; the dinner was merely tolerable; but Rolfe's unfinished palate flattered the second-rate cook. He knew nothing of vintages; it sufficed him to distinguish between Bordeaux and Burgundy; yet one saw him raise his glass and peer at the liquor with eye of connoisseur. All unaffectedly; for he was conscious of his shortcoming in the art of delicate living, and never vaunted his satisfactions. He had known the pasture of poverty, and the table as it is set by London landladies; to look back on these things was to congratulate himself that nowadays he dined. Beyond the achievement of a vague personal distinction at the Metropolitan Club, he had done nothing to make himself a man of note, and it was doubtful whether more than two or three of the members really liked him or regarded him with genuine interest. His introduction to this circle he owed to an old friend, Hugh Carnaby, whose social position was much more clearly defined: Hugh Carnaby, the rambler, the sportsman, and now for a twelvemonth the son-in-law of Mrs. Ascott Larkfield. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Harvey Rolfe's modest inheritance allows him to live quietly on the edge of the social and commercial bustle of London. But despite his efforts at detachment, books and private pleasures provide him with no real refuge. Bankruptcy and suicide bring the world's tumult to his door, together with Alma Frothingham.