New Grub Street by George Gissing

Milvain's skilful efforts notwithstanding, Mr. Bailey, Grocer, had no success. By two publishers the book had been declined; the firm which brought it out offered the author half profits and fifteen pounds on account, greatly to Harold Biffen's satisfaction. But reviewers in general were either angry or coldly contemptuous. "Let Mr. Biffen bear in mind," said one of these sages, "that a novelist's first duty is to tell a story. " "Mr. Biffen," wrote another, "seems not to understand that a work of art must before everything else afford amusement. " "A pretentious book of the genre ennuyant," was the brief comment of a Society journal. A weekly of high standing began its short notice in a rage: "Here is another of those intolerable productions for which we are indebted to the spirit of grovelling realism. This author, let it be said, is never offensive, but then one must go on to describe his work by a succession of negatives; it is never interesting, never profitable, never -- " and the rest. The eulogy in The West End had a few timid echoes. That in The Current would have secured more imitators, but unfortunately it appeared when most of the reviewing had already been done. And, as Jasper truly said, only a concurrence of powerful testimonials could have compelled any number of people to affect an interest in this book. "The first duty of a novelist is to tell a story: " the perpetual repetition of this phrase is a warning to all men who propose drawing from the life. Biffen only offered a slice of biography, and it was found to lack flavour.

He wrote to Mrs. Reardon: "I cannot thank you enough for this very kind letter about my book; I value it more than I should the praises of all the reviewers in existence. You have understood my aim. Few people will do that, and very few indeed could express it with such clear conciseness."