Gissing, George [1857 - 1903] — The UNCLASSED. A Novel. In Three Volumes

London: Chapman and Hall Limited, 1884. 1st Edition (Sadleir 978). Later dark tan half-calf bindings with light brown cloth boards. Marbled eps. TEG. Original cloth covers bound-in. 3 volumes: viii, 300; vi, 315, [1]; vi, 304 pp. Half-titles present. 8vo. 7-1/2" x 5" Gissing's 2nd published novel, The Unclassed is a story of the London slums, which includes 3 heroines: Ida Starr, daughter of a prostitute; Harriet Smales, a somewhat vulgar woman; and Maud, Ida's friend, who can be termed "shabby genteel." Their lives intersect those of two men, Osmond Waymark, "an unsuccessful writer of the lower classes", and Julian Casti, also a failed writer. Melodrama ensues.. "The novel is notable for its depiction of the clash between middle-class culture (here represented by the would-be author heroes) and squalid working-class circumstances." [Sutherland. Guide to Victorian Fiction, p. 645]. Rated #1 in Sadleir's list of Gissing's Comparative Scarcities. Uncommon in the trade; at the time of cataloguing, we see no other 1st edition 3v copies on offer. Minor rubs & scuffs to leather, overall, a VG+ set.