The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft

Henry Ryecroft "The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft" (1903) was once the most widely-read work of the English novelist George Gissing (1857 - 1903). It was Gissing's own favorite among his works. The book appeared in the year of Gissing's death. Gissing lived a difficult life which became the basis......more

This is definitely fiction, but the line between George Gissing and his Henry Ryecroft is perhaps a bit blurred. Ryecroft was a writer, but is now retired, having received an unexpected small inheritance. Gissing opens the volume with a preface outlining how, upon the death of his friend Ryecroft, h......more

This book is a homage to Devon and kind of a counterfactual life that Gissing might have lived in a parallel world.Gissing is Ryecroft in another world. Enjoying solitude in charming Devon away from all bustle of city life. Charming book. Good nuggets of interesting ideas here and there, like differ......more

Actually ***1/2: someone remembering Trollope can't write worse than that. Still I have to understand what he finds in British Cusine!!!!......more

A difficult novel to interpret beyond the limits of autobiography – those few sections that diverge in character are so meagre as remark little importance; and other sections only succeed in the knowledge of their origin. The many, many consecutive chapters arguing (vigorously) that English food is......more