DENZIL QUARRIER. A Novel

1892. [the copy of Gissing's agent] London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1892. Original olive-green cloth.

First Edition. This was Gissing's only one-volume novel published during the three-decker era (which ended in 1894). Gissing would have liked to write shorter, more-concise fiction, but the lending libraries demanded three volumes; after 1894 Gissing tried to shorten some of his earlier novels, but died too young (at 46, in 1903) to do much. DENZIL QUARRIER was the first of his six collaborations with Arthur Henry Bullen, the principal of Lawrence & Bullen. Gissing had titled this book THE RADICAL CANDIDATE, but reluctantly agreed to the publisher's request for a change ("so as to avoid alarming women readers by mention of the word 'radical'" [S&C]). This copy bears on its title page the ink-stamp of "The Authors' Syndicate, 4 Portugal Street, Lincolns Inn Fields, W.C." -- the company of the well-known literary agent William Morris Colles. Colles was not Gissing's agent for DENZIL QUARRIER, however, as it was not until the following year, 1893, that Gissing first began using Colles's services -- first in placing some short stories in periodicals, then with his novels. Five years later it would be Colles who would get Gissing to defect from the relationship with Bullen, convincing Gissing to withhold THE TOWN TRAVELLER from that firm in order to attract a much more lucrative offer from Methuen. This copy is in the primary olive-green cloth binding, and is in near-fine condition (spine gilt a little dull as always). Coustillas A10.1a; Collie A10a; Spiers & Coustillas O1; Sadleir 965; Wolff 2545.