ABSTRACT
BothReardonandMilvainpossessanalmostuncannycapabilityofassessing theirownwritingintermsofthismarket.WhetherMilvainispredictinghisown successasa'"literarymanof1882"'(p.8)ordeclaringwithpridetheefficacyof hisday'swork,itsliteraryvalue'"equaltothecontentsofamouldynut"'(p.181), hisself-assessmentsareroutinelyconfmnedasthepublicrespondstohiswork. Reardon'sviewofhisnovelsprovessimilarlyprophetic.Hewakesonenight beforehisweddinginthefear,subsequentlyjustified,thathe'couldneverget morethanahundredpoundsforoneofthelongbookswhichcost[him]somuch labour'(p.66).Afterhismarriage,ReardonwriteshisnovelMargaretHome knowingthatitis'confoundedlybad'(p.l29),accuratelypredictingthatitwillbe readasweakinstyleandplot.Reardon'sself-appraisalsupportswhatGissing's omniscientnarratortellsusofthefictionalwork:'Reardon'sstorywasweak,and [his]secondvolumehadtoconsistentirelyoflaboriouspadding'(p.l31).Despite hisincreasinginabilitytowritewell,Reardonoffersastableperspectivefrom whichheregistershischangingabilitiesasawriterandconfirmsthattheprice givenforhisworkreflectsitsquality.
