ABSTRACT
Except for a tendency to wordiness and an occasional heaviness of touch, A Life's Morning is excellent, both as regards incident and characterization. Mr Gissing understands the value ofcontrast, and he is equally at home in depicting the angularities of Lancashire life and the graceful repose of a handsomely appointed establishment in the South. His characters do not remain stationary, but are developed both from within and without as the narrative goes on. And as the characters grow so does the interest of the plot, which abounds in strong situations. There is little doubt, however, that the work would have gained by condensation as regards dialogue, description, and commentary. For Mr Gissing is somewhat prone to moralizing, and though he is always thoughtful and intelligent, and occasionally acute, he is loath to say a plain thing in a plain way, and exhibits an unfortunate predilection for ponderous Latinisms which would have irritated the late Mr Barnes. Such affectations of style are to be regretted in a writer who holds a high view of the functions of a novelist, and is obviously animated by a sincere sympathy for all that is best in human nature.
