3 Review(s)

The Odd Women is a book about the growing number of unmarried women who became a challenge for the writers of the 1890s. Summary of the Book In this book, the author attempts to write a satire of the literary image of the ‘New Woman’. He points out that the unmarried women of the time were viewed as less noble and romantic than odd and marginal in comparison to the ideal definition of womanhood. The book is set in the time of a very gloomy and dull London. Unmarried women, Mary Barfoot and Rhoda Nun, are financially stable and run a school that trains young women in office skills for work. The story also includes the Madden sisters who are struggling with their low paid jobs and have very little comfort or luxury in their lives. However, the most disturbing critique is left for the youngest of the Madden sisters who is soon to be married. This a novel that talks about some of the major sexual and social issues of the late-nineteenth century. About George Gissing George Gissing was an English novelist who published 23 novels between the years 1880-1903. He worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. His best known novels include: The Nether World, New Grub Street and The Odd Women.