George Gissing

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• It is our duty never to speak ill of others, you know; least of all when we know that to do so will be the cause of much pain and trouble.
  • The Unclassed (1884), ch. 1: School

• 'A man who comes to be hanged,' pursued Jasper, impartially, 'has the satisfaction of knowing that he has brought society to its last resource.[…]
  • New Grub Street (1891), ch. 1: A Man of His Day

• I tell you, writing is a business.
  • New Grub Street (1891), ch. 1: A Man of His Day

• I maintain that we people of brains are justified in supplying the mob with the food it likes.
  • New Grub Street (1891), ch. 1: A Man of His Day

• No, no; women, old or young, should never have to think about money.
  • The Odd Women (1893), ch. 1

• The thought, however, of his girls having to work for money was so utterly repulsive to him that he could never seriously dwell upon it.
  • The Odd Women (1893), ch. 1

• The insult was thrown out with a peculiarly reckless air; it astounded the hearer, who sat for an instant with staring eyes and lips apart; then the blood rushed to his cheeks.
  • Eve's Ransom (1895), ch. 1

• How I dreaded the white page I had to foul with ink!
  • The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft (1903): Spring

• For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every sky has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously.
  • The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft (1903): Winter

• To be at other people's orders brings out all the bad in me.
  • Will Warburton (1905), ch. 3