The Odd Women | Fiction - www.zzdbook.com

The Odd Women

Nov 16, 2025 1:16 AM

Author:George Gissing,Elaine Showalter

The Odd Women

Virginia and Alice Madden are 'odd women', growing old alone in Victorian England with no prospect of finding love. Forced into poverty by the sudden death of their father, they lead lives of quiet desperation in a genteel boarding house in London. Meanwhile, their younger sister Monica, struggles to endure a loveless marriage she agreed to as her only escape from spinsterhood. But when the Maddens meet an old friend, Rhoda Nunn, they are soon made aware of the depth of their oppression. Astonishingly ahead of its time, The Odd Women is a pioneering work of early feminism. Gissing's depiction of the daring feminist Rhoda Nunn, it is an unflinching portrayal of one woman's struggle to reconcile her own desires with her deepest principles.

Reviews

He is a satirist of enormous talent..Incredibly funny, compulsively readable

—— The Times

He would be amusing in any form and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction

—— Daily Mail

Pure fantastic delight

—— Time Out

Inciteful, humorous and engaging

—— Lancashire Evening Post

An hilarious look at life as a single mum. Wickedly funny, warm and wonderfully perceptive, it's great for those long, cold, dark winter nights

—— Peterborough Evening Telegraph

An amazing story

—— Vanessa Feltz, BBC London

Literate chick-lit ... Jayne Buxton is a funny writer who knows that humour is in the detail

—— Boston Globe

This is one that you won't want to miss - a wonderful debut novel

—— Armchair Interviews.com

Intelligent chick-lit ... This laugh-out-loud debut will captivate readers

—— Publishers Weekly

Brilliantly funny in its early chapters, but also very wise, the virtuosic irony turns to bitterness as a tragic story develops. Tesich died just after completing this marvellous, heart-felt valediction.

—— Scotland on Sunday

A sad novel with a jaunty, upbeat tone that disguises the tragedy of Tesich's magnetic characters

—— Observer

A feisty read you won't want to put down

—— Woman

A must-read for empty nesters ... this is Trollope at her most poignant

—— Guernsey Now

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